US threatens Russia with 100% tariffs

KYIV/WASHINGTON — United States President Donald Trump announced on Monday new weapons for Ukraine routed through NATO, and threatened Russia with steep tariffs if a ceasefire deal is not reached in 50 days.

Sitting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin and that billions of dollars of US weapons would go to Ukraine.

"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 said.

He provided few details on how these would be implemented, but described them as secondary tariffs — meaning these would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.

In addition, Trump said European allies would buy "billions and billions" of dollars of US military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the country's supplies of weapons.

"We're going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they'll be sent to NATO," he said.

The weapons would include Patriot air defense missiles Ukraine has urgently sought, he said. "We're going to have some come very soon, within days."

Rutte said Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada all wanted to be a part of rearming Ukraine.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later clarified that Trump meant "economic sanction" when he threatened "secondary tariffs" against Russia.

To that end, Trump backed bipartisan legislation — already supported by most US senators — that will sanction banks and energy traders buying Russian oil above the G7 price cap and freeze Russian sovereign assets until Moscow withdraws its forces.

Defense analysts in New York told The Wall Street Journal that the first wave of supplies could exceed $10 billion once training, spare parts and munitions are counted. A single Patriot battery alone can reportedly cost more than $1 billion when factoring in missiles.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution in Washington, characterized the combined military and economic measures as the most significant US escalation since 2022, saying that the dual approach increases pressure on Russia from multiple directions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that he had spoken to Trump and "it was a very good conversation".

Zelensky held talks with Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg on Monday.

Kremlin response

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Trump's statements were "very serious".

"We certainly need time to analyze what was said in Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov added that it was already clear that decisions being made in Washington and other NATO capitals were "perceived by the Ukrainian side not as a signal for peace but as a signal to continue the war".

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said on Tuesday that Trump's statements against Russia were a "theatrical ultimatum" and the country "didn't care".

Asked about Trump's remarks, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said an immediate ceasefire was needed to pave the way for a political solution, and "whatever can contribute to these objectives will, of course, be important if it is done in line with international law".

At the White House meeting, Trump said his shift was motivated by frustration with Putin.

In a BBC interview published on Tuesday, Trump said he was "disappointed" in Putin, but "not done" with him.

Agencies - Xinhua