Trump threatens Russia with tariffs while unveiling new Ukraine weapons plan

US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States would send “high-end weapons” to Ukraine via NATO countries, while threatening Russia with serious prices if an agreement to end war is not reached within 50 days.

“We want to make sure that Ukraine can do what he wants to do,” Trump said after a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte in Washington.

Rutte confirmed that the United States had decided to “massively provide Ukraine with what is necessary through NATO” and that Europeans would pay the bill.

European countries will send kyiv their own patriotic air defense systems – on which Ukraine relies on to repel the fatal air strikes in Russia – and replacements will then be published by the United States, Trump said.

Neither Rutte nor Trump developed the weapons that will be sent to kyiv, but Rutte said that the agreement included “missiles and ammunition”.

However, the president said that “high -end weapons” worth billions of dollars would be “quickly distributed on the battlefield” to support Ukraine.

“If I were Vladimir Putin today … I would reconsider if I should not take negotiations on Ukraine more seriously,” said Rutte, while Trump was nodding.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter that he spoke with Trump after his meeting with Rutte, and thanked him for his “willingness to support Ukraine and continue working together to stop killings and establish a hard and simple peace”.

“We have discussed the necessary means and solutions with the president to provide better protection to people against Russian attacks and to strengthen our positions. We are ready to work as productive as possible to reach peace,” he said.

On the price front, Trump said that the United States would impose 100% secondary prices targeting the remaining business partners of Russia if a peace agreement with Ukraine was not reached within 50 days.

It would see any country that is negotiated with Russia is faced with the tax if they want to sell their products in the United States.

For example, if India continues to buy Russia oil, American companies that buy Indian products should pay a 100% import tax, or price, when products reach the American coast.

This would make goods so expensive that American companies would probably choose to buy them cheaper elsewhere, resulting in loss of income for India.

The intention is also to tighten the economy of Russia. Theoretically, if Moscow was unable to generate money by selling oil to other nations, he would also have less money to finance his war in Ukraine.

Since oil and gas represent almost a third of Moscow State revenues and more than 60% of its exports, 100% prices could make finances from Russia.

However, the Moscow Stock Exchange index increased sharply following the announcement, probably, as the investors expected Trump – who teased a “major declaration” on Russia last week – to initiate even more severe measures.

Although the details on the prices and the NATO weapons agreement were rare on Monday was the first time that Trump promises new military equipment for Ukraine since his return to the White House.

The briefing was also remarkable for the tone brought by the American president, whose rhetoric on Vladimir Putin has become increasingly harsh.

It was not for the first time, Trump hinted that Kyiv had a certain responsibility for Russia’s decision to launch his large -scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But he seemed above all frustrated by the lack of progress at the end of a conflict which he once seemed to believe could be easily resolved.

Asked about his relationship with Putin, Trump said that the two said “a lot of doing this thing”, but expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that “very beautiful telephone calls” with the Russian president are often followed by devastating air strikes on Ukraine – which have increased in intensity and frequency.

“After that, you say three or four times: the conversation means nothing,” said Trump.

“I don’t want to call him an assassin but it’s a hard to cook. It has been proven over the years, he has cheated on a lot of people-Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden,” he added. “He was not mistaken. At some point, the conversation does not speak, it must be the action.”

Two ceasefire cycles between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year, but no other meeting has been planned so far-which Moscow has blamed in kyiv.

Ukraine president Zelensky is currently hosting the American envoy Keith Kellogg in kyiv and earlier on Monday, praised a “productive meeting” – saying that he was “grateful” to Trump for his support.

The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the ad – but the comments that flow from Moscow seemed to indicate a relief measure.

The Pundit Pro-Kremlin and former assistant of Putin Sergei Markov qualified the announcement of “a bluff” tariffs which indicated that Trump had “abandoned the achievement of peace in Ukraine”.

Senator Konstantin Kosachev argued that “if all that Trump had to say about Ukraine today, then so far, it has been a lot of completely”.

In 50 days, many things could change “both on the battlefield and in the mood of the powers in place in the United States and NATO,” wrote Kosachev.

Additional report by Dearbail Jordan