US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened “massive sanctions or tariffs” on Russia if there was no movement towards peace in examples of the Ukraine conflict in the next two weeks. Trump’s comments came after a Russian hit in Ukraine was claimed to have targeted an American owned factory, which he said made him “very unhappy.”
“I’m going to make a decision as to what we do, and it’s a very important decision. That’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions, massive tariffs, or both, or we do nothing and say it’s your fight,” Trump said in his expected approach to the tensions, but a significant change in US policy depending on the war’s and world leader’s immediate future.
Trump noted comments on our August 15 fortune in Alaska, and his sit-down photo opportunity with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a red carpet one. He said Putin expressed a hearty interest in joining him to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup in 2026, but of course, that would depend on “how the war goes.”
At the same time, Russia dismissed reports of a potential summit between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as untrue. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured that there was “no agenda” for either talks and then blamed Kyiv for being unwilling to negotiate. Zelenskyy had said previously that “Moscow was intentionally blocking negotiations.”
All of this continues to highlight the uncertainty with regard to Trump’s strategy. A two-week deadline puts pressure on Moscow to act quickly, but it also leaves open the possibility that Washington would pivot back to regime change, potentially altering the balance of what support is available to Ukraine.
