Trump tells Putin to end ‘ridiculous war’ in Ukraine or face new sanctions.

US President Donald Trump has warned that he will impose higher tariffs and further sanctions on Russian goods if he fails to end the war in Ukraine.

Writing on the social media site Truth Social, he said he was doing Russia and its president Vladimir Putin a “huge favor” by pushing to stop the war.

Trump in 2016

Russia has not yet responded to the comments, but senior officials have said there is little chance of Moscow talking to the new US administration in recent days.

Putin has repeatedly said he is ready to negotiate an end to the war, but says Ukraine must accept the reality that Russia currently owns 20% of its territory. Kyiv says it is not ready to give up its territory.

On Tuesday, Trump told a news conference that he would speak with Putin soon and “swear” he could impose more sanctions if the Russian leader does not come to the table.

But in his truly social post on Wednesday, he wrote, “I’m doing Russia, whose economy is collapsing, and President Putin, a huge favor.”

“Now stand up and stop this ridiculous war! It’s only going to get worse. If we don’t make a ‘deal’ and soon, I have no choice but to put high taxes, tariffs and sanctions on everything. It’s being sold by Russia to the US and various participating countries.”

He continued: “If I were president, let’s avoid a war that would never start! We can do it the easy way or the hard way – and the easy way is always the best.” It’s time to get creative. agreement””

Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, previously told Reuters news agency that the Kremlin needs to know what Trump wants in a deal to end the war before the country can move forward.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday that any deal would require at least 200,000 peacekeepers.

And he told Bloomberg that any peacekeeping force in his country must include US troops to create a real deterrent to Russia.

“It can’t happen outside the United States … even if some European friends think it can happen, no,” he said, adding that no one else would risk such a move without the US.

While Ukraine’s leaders may appreciate Trump’s tough talk — they’ve always said Putin appreciates strength — the initial response in Kiev to the US president’s comments is one they expect will be actions, not words.

Trump did not say where or when additional economic sanctions might be targeted. From 2022, Russian imports to the US have been reduced and all kinds of severe restrictions are already in place.

Currently, the main Russian exports to America are phosphate-based fertilizers and platinum.

There was a general reaction of Ukrainians on social networks. Many have pointed to additional sanctions as a weak response to Russia’s aggression. But the biggest question for many is whether Putin is open to discussing any peace talks with Ukraine.

Some people in Moscow are seeing signs that the Kremlin is preparing to accept less of a “victory” than the Russians once thought, as tanks roll west toward the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

TV presenter Margarita Simonyan, a staunch Putin supporter, began to talk about “realistic” conditions for ending the war, which she suggested could include ending the war on the current front.

That means four Ukrainian regions, such as Zaporizhia, which Putin illegally designated as Russian territory two years ago, are still partially under Kiev’s control.

Russian hardliners, called “Z” bloggers, are outraged by this “defeat”.

On social media, Trump backed the threat of tariffs and tougher sanctions with words of “love” for the Russian people and emphasized his respect for Soviet losses in World War II — a topic most sacred to Putin — even though Trump overestimated it. The numbers and the USSR think that Russia is the only one. In fact, millions of Ukrainians and other Soviet citizens lost their lives.

That said, someone who previously said he “understood” Russia’s concerns about Ukraine joining NATO — the equivalent of saying they’re mad at Putin for Kiev — seems to be changing his tune.

Trump’s position is critical. But after 11 years of war with Russia and a history of weak peace deals, Ukrainians are not inclined to give up.