KEY POINTS
- Trump gives Russia 50 days to end the Ukraine war or face massive new economic sanctions.
- The sanctions include 100% tariffs and “secondary tariffs” targeting Russia’s trade partners.
- Trump announces a deal with NATO to send billions in US-made weapons to Ukraine.
- Zelensky welcomes Trump’s support and met with US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday told Russia to resolve its Ukraine war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions, including retaliatory tariffs, as he laid out plans for new infusions of weaponry for Kyiv.
“We’re very, very unhappy” with Russia, Trump told reporters as he met with NATO chief Mark Rutte in the White House.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent,” said Trump, adding that they would be “secondary tariffs” that target Russia’s remaining trade partners.
Trump and Rutte also unveiled a deal under which the NATO military alliance would buy arms from the United States — including Patriot anti-missile batteries — and then distribute them to Ukraine to help it battle Russia’s invasion.
“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO… and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield,” Trump said.
Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, said Ukraine would get “massive numbers” of weapons under the deal.
Trump launched a bid at rapprochement with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, shortly after starting his second term in January, as he sought to honour his election campaign promise to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours.
His pivot towards Putin sparked fears in Kyiv that he was about to sell out Ukraine, especially after Trump and his team berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February.
Frustration with Putin
But Trump has shown growing anger and frustration with Putin in recent weeks, as the Russian leader.
Trump added of Putin on Monday: “I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy.”
Last week, Trump had teased an announcement on Monday about Russia. He then announced on Sunday that he would send vital Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian attacks.
Washington has also U-turned from an announcement earlier this month that it would pause some arms deliveries to Kyiv.
Rutte’s visit to the White House is the first since the former Dutch prime minister described Trump as “daddy” at a NATO summit in The Hague in June.
Trump’s announcement on Monday came as his special envoy, Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv to meet Zelensky.
US special envoy meets Zelensky
Zelensky hailed the “productive meeting”, saying they had discussed “strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe.”
The Ukrainian leader also said he was “grateful to President Trump for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries.”
Russian forces, meanwhile, said on Monday they had captured new territory in eastern Ukraine with the seizure of two villages, one in the Donetsk region and another in the Zaporizhzhia region.
In Kyiv, Zelensky also proposed a major political shake-up, recommending economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko take over as the country’s new prime minister.
Svyrydenko said on social media that Ukraine was facing a “crucial time.”
