U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened President Vladimir Putin’s Russia “and other participating countries” with taxes, tariffs, and sanctions if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not struck soon.
“I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people and always had a very good relationship with President Putin—and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia hoax,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big favour. Settle now, and stop this ridiculous war! It’s only going to get worse,” Trump continued.
He threatened that if there was not a ceasefire deal soon, he would “have no other choice” but to impose tariffs, taxes, and sanctions on “anything being sold by Russia to the United States and various other participating countries.”
“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,” Trump wrote. “It’s time to ‘make a deal.’ No more lives should be lost.
The administration of former US President Joe Biden has already imposed numerous sanctions on various Russian economic sectors, including its oil and energy sectors, earlier this month, in an effort to cut off its revenues to fund the war in Ukraine.
Trump has on many occasions called for a ceasefire in Ukraine, urging both sides to negotiate. Russian forces invaded Ukraine in early 2022, and both sides have sustained heavy losses in the nearly three years of fighting since.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
