Trump threatens Russia tariffs if Ukraine war is not resolved within 50 days

“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Mr Trump said.

He did not provide specifics on how the tariffs would be implemented.

“I use trade for a lot of things,” he added.

“But it’s great for settling wars.”

War

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday, as anticipation grew over a possible shift in the Trump administration’s policy on the three-year war.

Mr Rutte also planned to hold talks with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and secretary of state Marco Rubio, as well as members of Congress.

Mr Trump made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s unbudging stance on US-led peace efforts.

Mr Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Mr Putin, and after taking office in January repeatedly said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal.

At the same time, Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of prolonging the war and called him a “dictator without elections.”

Deadly

But Russia’s relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Mr Trump’s patience. In April, Mr Trump urged Mr Putin to “STOP!” launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader “ has gone absolutely CRAZY!” as the bombardments continued.

“I am very disappointed with President Putin, I thought he was somebody that meant what he said,” Mr Trump said late on Sunday. “He’ll talk so beautifully and then he’ll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.”

Mr Zelensky said he and Mr Trump’s envoy, retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, had “a productive conversation” about strengthening Ukrainian air defences, joint arms production and purchasing US weapons in conjunction with European countries, as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin.

“We hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its … ambitions are stopped by force,” Mr Zelensky said on Telegram.