'We can do this the easy way or the hard way': Trump orders Russia to end 'ridiculous' war in Ukraine
by Kit Heren · LBCBy Kit Heren
Donald Trump has issued Vladimir Putin with an ultimatum, ordering him to end the war in Ukraine.
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The president, who came to power again on Monday, said he loved the Russian people - but that he would put "high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions" on products coming into the US from Russia.
Russia is already under severe sanctions from the US, including energy import bans, financial punishments and export restrictions. Mr Trump is known to be seeking to end the war in Ukraine, which began nearly three years ago when Russia invaded.
Mr Trump said on his Truth Social website: "I'm not looking to hurt Russia.
"I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin."
"All of that being said, I'm going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big favour," he said.
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"Settle now, and stop this ridiculous war," he wrote, adding that the war is "only going to get worse".
"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," he said.
He added: "We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better."
"It's time to make a deal. No more lives should be lost."
A Russian official responded to Mr Trump's comments later.
"It's not merely the question of ending the war," Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy envoy to the United Nations, told Reuters. "
It's first and foremost the question of addressing root causes of Ukrainian crisis.
"So we have to see what does the 'deal' mean in President Trump's understanding."
It comes as President Trump claimed that almost one million Russian soldiers and 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war.
Russian forces are attempting to capture as much land as possible ahead of Trump coming to power - and the possibility of a ceasefire in the region.
Former Chair of RUSI says sending British troops to help with Russia peace deal would be 'risky'
Britain is said to be in talks to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine if a ceasefire deal with Russia is reached.
Keir Starmer is believed to have discussed the idea of deploying the army to the war-torn country with French president Emmanuel Macron during a recent visit to the UK.
But there is still more work to be done if any deal is to be reached, the Telegraph reported.
"There are challenges over what we could support, what would we want to support, and the broader question about the threat that those troops may be under and whether that is escalatory," a civil service source said.
Macron has been a key champion of sending a peacekeeping force to maintain the terms of any deal with Russia.
He has already discussed the idea with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president.
Meanwhile a British submarine also forced a Russian spy ship away from British waters on Wednesday.