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.
