July 14, (THEWILL) — United States President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Russia, threatening sweeping economic sanctions if Moscow fails to halt its military campaign in Ukraine within 50 days.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House, Trump said his administration is prepared to impose tariffs of up to 100% on Russian goods, should President Vladimir Putin refuse to commit to a ceasefire.
“We’re very, very unhappy with Russia. We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days—tariffs at about 100 percent,” Trump declared.
He further hinted at “secondary tariffs” aimed at punishing countries still trading with Moscow, in a bid to further isolate Russia economically and intensify pressure over its continued assault on Ukraine.
The move comes amid a recent surge in Russian drone and missile attacks, with UN figures showing June recorded the highest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine in three years.
Trump, who has recently grown more vocal about the conflict, expressed frustration over President Putin’s refusal to de-escalate.
“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy. The only one we haven’t been able to get to yet is Russia. And I’m not happy,” he said.
He added, “It’s all talk, and then missiles go into Kyiv and kill 60 people. It’s got to stop.”
The U.S. president also revealed a new NATO weapons deal, under which the alliance will purchase billions of dollars’ worth of American arms—including Patriot missile defense systems—for Ukraine.
“This is billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment going to NATO and quickly distributed to the battlefield,” Trump said, emphasising the urgency of arming Ukraine against ongoing Russian aggression.
Rutte, who described the deal as critical, said it would supply Ukraine with “massive numbers” of weapons.
The visit marks Rutte’s first to the White House since he notably referred to Trump as “daddy” during a NATO summit in The Hague last month.
In a related development, Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv on Monday for high-level talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader described their meeting as “productive,” revealing that discussions focused on air defense, weapons production, and joint procurement with European partners.
Zelensky praised the former U.S. president for his “important signals of support” and called the outcomes of the talks “positive for both our countries.”
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Russian forces claimed fresh gains on Monday with the capture of two villages—one in Donetsk and another in Zaporizhzhia.
Ukrainian regional officials also reported that three civilians were killed in separate attacks in Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
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