Trump tells Putin to end 'ridiculous war' in Ukraine or face new sanctions

US President Donald Trump has warned helium volition enforce precocious tariffs connected Russian goods and enforce further sanctions if it fails to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine.

Writing connected his societal media level Truth Social, helium said that by pushing to settee the warfare helium was doing Russia, and its President Vladimir Putin, a "very large favour".

Trump has antecedently said helium would negociate a colony to the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale penetration successful February 2022, successful a azygous day.

Russia has not yet responded to the remarks, but elder officials person said successful caller days that determination is simply a tiny model of accidental for Moscow to woody with the caller US administration.

Putin has said repeatedly that helium is prepared to negociate an extremity to the war, but that Ukraine would person to judge the world of Russian territorial gains, which are presently astir 20% of its land. Kyiv meantime says it is not prepared to springiness up its territory.

On Tuesday Trump told a quality league helium would beryllium talking to Putin "very soon" and it "sounds likely" that helium would use much sanctions if the Russian person did not travel to the table.

But successful his Truth Social station connected Wednesday, helium went further: "I'm going to bash Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a precise large FAVOR," helium wrote.

"Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don't marque a 'deal', and soon, I person nary different prime but to enactment precocious levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions connected thing being sold by Russia to the United States, and assorted different participating countries."

Continuing, helium said: "Let's get this war, which ne'er would person started if I were President, implicit with! We tin bash it the casual way, oregon the hard mode - and the casual mode is ever better. It's clip to "MAKE A DEAL"."

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Russia's lawman UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy earlier told Reuters quality bureau that the Kremlin would request to cognize what Trump wants successful a woody to halt the warfare earlier the state moves forward.

Meanwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the World Economic Forum connected Tuesday that astatine slightest 200,000 peacekeepers would beryllium needed nether immoderate agreement.

And helium told Bloomberg that immoderate peacekeeping unit for his state would person to see US troops to airs a realistic deterrent to Russia.

"It can't beryllium without the United States... Even if immoderate European friends deliberation it tin be, nary it volition not be," helium said, adding that no-one other would hazard specified a determination without the US.

While Ukraine's leaders mightiness admit this tougher-talking Trump - they person ever said Putin lone understands spot - the archetypal absorption successful Kyiv to the US president's comments suggest that it is actions radical are waiting for, not words.

Trump has not specified wherever much economical penalties mightiness beryllium aimed, oregon when. Russian imports to the US person plummeted since 2022 and determination are each sorts of dense restrictions already successful place.

Currently, the main Russian exports to the US are phosphate-based fertilisers and platinum.

On societal media, determination was a mostly scathing effect from Ukrainians. Many suggested that much sanctions were a anemic reply to Russian aggression. But the biggest question for astir is what Putin is really unfastened to discussing with Ukraine astatine immoderate bid talks.

In Moscow meanwhile, immoderate radical are seeing signs that the Kremlin whitethorn beryllium readying Russians to judge little than the "victory" erstwhile envisaged, which included tanks rolling each the mode westbound to the confederate Ukrainian larboard metropolis of Odesa.

TV exertion Margarita Simonyan, who is stridently pro-Putin, has begun talking of "realistic" conditions for ending the war, which she suggests could see halting the warring on the existent frontline.

That would mean the 4 Ukrainian regions that Putin illegally pronounced arsenic Russian territory much than 2 years ago, similar Zaporizhzhia, inactive being partially controlled by Kyiv.

Russian hardliners, the alleged "Z" bloggers, are furious astatine specified "defeatism".

In his societal media post, Trump besides couched his menace of tariffs and tighter sanctions successful words of "love" for the Russian radical and highlighted his respect for Soviet losses successful World War Two – a near-sacred taxable for Putin - though Trump massively overestimated the numbers and appeared to deliberation the USSR was Russia alone. In reality, millions of Ukrainians and different Soviet citizens besides mislaid their lives.

That said, the antheral who antecedently said helium could "understand" Russia's concerns astir Ukraine joining Nato - which for Kyiv is tantamount to saying Putin was provoked - does look to beryllium shifting his tone.

Trump's presumption matters. But aft 11 years of warfare with Russia and a past of mediocre bid deals, Ukrainians are not inclined to beryllium hopeful.