President Donald Trump announced Friday that Russia can expect to be hit with sanctions and tariffs by the U.S. if it fails to reach a ceasefire and peace agreement with Ukraine.
According to ABC News, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to warn that he could soon make the decision to implement sanctions.
“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 said. “To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you.”
Former President Joe Biden had issued sanctions against Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
ABC News further reported that Trump has received criticism for not putting more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin during negotiations between Russia and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to broker a peace deal and end the conflict.
Trump’s announcement came on the heels of an attack that was launched by Russia on Ukraine in which 261 missiles and drones were deployed, targeting energy and gas infrastructure across Ukraine, according to officials.
Military aid and intelligence data was halted this week to Ukraine by the trump administration after a public blow up between Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
Trump alleged that Zelenskyy was “full of hate” for Russia, and stated it was hard to negotiate a peace deal when someone has that mindset. Vance also asked if Zelenskyy had thanked the U.S. for all of it help, including billions of American taxpayer dollars that have been sent to aid Ukraine’s war.
Zelenskyy pushed back on this sentiment, reiterating that it was, in fact, Putin who did not want to reach a peace deal, had gone back on negotiations and had harmed his country.
