Trump threatens to hit Russia with sanctions in push for peace deal
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine need to get to negotiating table
President Trump said he is “strongly considering” imposing far-reaching sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a peace agreement is reached in the war in Ukraine.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote on social media on Friday.
He added that both Russia and Ukraine needed to get to the negotiating table “before it is too late.”
Russia launched its latest aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities early Friday with 67 missiles and 194 attack dronesu., according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The majority were intercepted, the air force said, but officials reported damage to power and gas facilities. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s electricity grid, often forcing blackouts in cities across the country.
Trump’s latest comments come after a fiery Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made the path forward for the peace agreement uncertain. The US president had in recent weeks said he was confident that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, wanted peace.
Trump didn’t provide any additional details on his plans and the White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration said it had ordered a pause to intelligence sharing with Ukraine, a move that deprives Kyiv of a key tool in fighting Russian forces. The US has also suspended weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Top US officials are planning to meet with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia next week to set the stage for potential peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.
Trump made a similar sanctions and tariff threat against Russia in January, but didn’t follow through. At the time, he stressed that he didn’t want to hurt Russia. “I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin,” he wrote.
The efficacy of Trump’s threat of tariffs is questionable. Russia exported about $2.9 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024, according to Census Bureau data, down from $29.6 billion in 2021, before the war started.
The US and its allies have already been hitting Russia with sanctions and other punitive measures for years, including an effort to cap the price of oil exported by Russia and kick Russian banks out of the SWIFT international payments messaging system.
Russia’s economy has been suffering from persistently high inflation, labor shortages and interest rates at a historic high of 21 per cent.
Trump could still further target Russia’s oil, including some of its biggest oil producers such as Rosneft and Lukoil.
The US president has faced criticism from Democrats, some Republicans and diplomats for, at times, echoing Putin’s talking points about Ukraine and publicly criticizing Zelensky. He has said he has spoken directly with the Russian leader since taking office about ending the war.
Trump has said Putin would “keep his word” once a peace deal is reached.
Zelensky, who told Trump in the Oval Office meeting about Putin’s history of invading Ukraine despite previous cease-fire agreements, has since said his meeting with Trump was “regrettable.”
“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace,” Zelensky wrote on social media earlier this week. “Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.”
The Wall Street Journal
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