WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Monday threatened Russia with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration about unsuccessful negotiations for ending the war.
The latest steps reflect an evolving approach from the Republican president, who promised to swiftly resolve the war Russian President Vladimir Putin started when he invaded Ukraine three years ago. Trump has often criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for allowing the war to happen but more recently has expressed growing irritation toward Putin.
“It just keeps going on and on and on,” Trump said. “Every night, people are dying.”
Trump said he would implement “severe tariffs” unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but he described them as secondary tariffs, meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.
“I use trade for a lot of things,” Trump added. “But it’s great for settling wars.”
Trump also said that European allies would buy “billions and billions” of dollars of U.S. military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country’s supplies of weapons. He made the announcement in the Oval Office alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles.
Doubts were recently raised about Trump’s commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were running low.
Rutte said Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine. He said “speed is of the essence here,” and he said the shipments should make Putin “reconsider” peace negotiations.
