Back peace or I’ll ruin you, Trump tells Putin

Donald Trump has threatened to devastate the Russian economy if the Kremlin doesn’t sign a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, amid hopes a pause in the fighting could come as soon as today.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media during a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

President Trump has threatened to devastate the Russian economy if the Kremlin does not sign a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, at a time of hope in Europe that a pause in the fighting could come as soon as today.

As Britain and other European nations demanded in Paris that President Putin prove he was willing to talk, the US president said that America could inflict financial pain on Russia if necessary.

Trump said: “I can do things financially, that would be very bad for Russia. I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”

He said US officials were heading to Russia to discuss a potential 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine after Kyiv agreed to the plan on Tuesday, having taken part in talks in Jeddah.

The White House confirmed that Steve Witkoff, the US envoy, would head to Moscow this week after Mike Waltz, the US national security adviser, spoke to his Russian counterpart yesterday.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky during the Oval Office spat. Picture: AFP

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office as he met Micheal Martin, the Irish prime minister, Trump said it was now up to Russia after Ukraine agreed to a pause. He said: “Hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia. I’ve gotten some positive messages, but a positive message means nothing. This is a very serious situation.” He added that the conflict “could start World War Three”.

The Kremlin said it was awaiting details from Washington about the proposed deal.

Trump said a ceasefire would make sense for Russia but added that there was “a lot of downside for Russia too”, without elaborating.

Defence ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland gathered at the Val-de-Grace chapel in Paris to discuss accelerating European security and plans for a “reassurance force” inside Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

Sebastian Lecornu, the French defence minister, said: “We are hoping to see a ceasefire tomorrow.”

John Healey, the UK defence secretary, said: “I say to President Putin, over to you now. You said you want to talk, prove it. Accept the ceasefire, start negotiations and end the war.

“Make no mistake, the pressure is now on Putin.”

European nations have been sceptical that Putin is prepared to make any concessions on Ukraine and believe that his war aims remain the same as they did at the launch of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Putin has said he is unwilling to accept European forces on the ground in Ukraine.

Healey said Putin was in “no position to lay down red lines” on European troops inside Ukraine, in a briefing on the fringes of the meeting. He said: “The negotiations haven’t started and the jury is still out on whether he is serious.” Healey added that “the task for President Trump is to bring Putin to the negotiating table as he said he would, as that is the only way we are going to secure peace”.

If a ceasefire deal is accepted, after 15 days European nations will gather again to “take stock” of the developments on the ground, it is understood.

Europe is now looking at a “reassurance” force in Ukraine rather than anything that looks like a traditional peacekeeping force. The troops would aim to provide a deterrent to Putin by their mere presence on the ground and to prevent Russia from breaking any peace deal. Britain and others have been clear in private that the minerals deal is not enough to provide security guarantees to Ukraine.

President Zelensky during talks in Saudi Arabia this week. Picture: AFP

There was also talk in Paris of over-reliance on US technology after Trump severed intelligence-sharing with Kyiv and halted military aid for a week.

Lecornu said there was a “dependence on Starlink”, the satellite service provided by Elon Musk, and France needed to produce its own model.

In a letter to The Times, former military chiefs and politicians from the UK, US, Canada and the EU gave their backing to a pounds 100 billion Defence, Security, and Resilience Bank as part of a suite of financial tools aimed at ramping up Europe’s weapons production.

Meanwhile, Putin visited the Russian region of Kursk for the first time since Ukrainian forces seized some territory in the region, Russian news agencies reported. Putin arrived at a control centre used by Russian forces and was told that Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region were now surrounded.

The Times