Trump sends threat to Putin to end war in Ukraine

by · Mail Online

President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Vladimir Putin that he faces taxes, tariffs and sanctions if Russia did not sign up to a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

He delivered the threat on his Truth Social platform.

'If we don’t make a "deal," and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,' Trump posted with his usual mix of idiosyncratic capitalization. 

'Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with!'

Trump frequently claimed he would end the war in Ukraine in his first 24 hours at the White House.

He may have missed that deadline but he has made clear that the conflict must come to a halt with a mix of incentives and threats aimed at both sides. 

Trump has hinted that he could intensify the supply of arms to Ukraine if Moscow does not come to the negotiating table, yet at the same time has signaled the supply could be shut off if Kyiv refuses to countenance a deal. 

On Tuesday, he was asked by reporters about the possibility of choking off arms to Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.

President Donald Trump said he was speaking to Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky and planned to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin soon as he took questions from journalists in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Tuesday
Trump set out his thoughts on ending the war in a Truth Social post Wednesday morning

'Well, we'll look into that. We're talking to Zelensky,' he said. 

'We're going to be talking with President Putin very soon, and we'll see what, how it all happens. We're going to look at it.'

The war began three years ago when Russian forces swept into Ukraine. But their hopes of a rapid victory were dashed by dogged Ukrainian resistance.

Putin has repeatedly said he is ready to do a deal to end the war so long as Russia keeps hold of about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.

Now the conflict stands at a pivotal moment as Ukraine waits to see what its biggest ally does after the inauguration of a new president. 

Trump's message shows that he is ready to use economic force against Moscow in the same way that he has with allies. 

'I’m not looking to hurt Russia,' he posted.

'I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin - and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX.

Rubble and debris lie on the ground next to an apartment block that was damaged in a Russian attack two days ago, on January 22, 2025 in Kostyantynivka, Ukraine
A top Russian official said Moscow was preparing for contacts between Putin and Trump

'We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process.' 

That number is about double the accepted number of Russian military and civilian losses. 

Meanwhile, a senior Russian official said Moscow sees a small window of opportunity to deals with Trump, Reuters reported. 

'Compared to the hopelessness in every aspect of the previous White House chief (President Joe Biden), there is a window of opportunity today, albeit a small one," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies in Moscow.

'It's therefore important to understand with what and whom we will have to deal, how best to build relations with Washington, how best to maximise opportunities and minimise risks.'

He was later quoted by the Tass state news agency saying Russia was preparing for contacts between Putin and Trump.