End Ukraine war or face stricter sanctions, tariffs – Trump warns Putin

Donald Trump has warned of imposing steep tariffs and additional sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin fails to end the war in Ukraine.

Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump claimed that pushing for a resolution to the conflict would be doing Russia and its leader “a very big favour.”

The former U.S. president has previously stated that he could negotiate a settlement to Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, within a single day.

While Russia has not yet officially responded to Trump’s remarks, senior officials have recently hinted at a narrow window for Moscow to engage with the incoming U.S. administration.

President Putin has reiterated his willingness to negotiate an end to the conflict, which initially began in 2014, but insists Ukraine must accept Russian territorial gains—currently about 20% of Ukraine’s land—and abandon its NATO membership aspirations.

Kyiv, however, remains steadfast in refusing to relinquish territory, although President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the possibility of temporarily ceding some occupied regions.

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he would be speaking to Putin “very soon” and suggested that additional sanctions could be introduced if the Russian leader does not engage in negotiations.

In a more assertive post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump wrote, “I’m going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR.”

“Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a ‘deal’, and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”

Continuing, he said: “Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL”.”