President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to take serious measures against Russia if it does not cooperate in ending the war in Ukraine.
During a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump said he is “very unhappy” with Russia’s government and indicated the US would pursue punitive measures to pressure the Kremlin to end its invasion of Ukraine.
“We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia,” Trump told reporters. “But we'll discuss that maybe a different day. But we're very, very unhappy with them, and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs.”
The president detailed what his administration would do to force Russia to the negotiating table. “If we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent you call them secondary tariffs.”
Trump further stated that the US has spent $350 billion on the war and that he “would like to see it end.”
“It wasn't my war, it was Biden's war. It's not my war. I'm trying to get you out of it. We want to see it end,” Trump continued. “I'm disappointed in President [Vladimir] Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn't seem to get there. Based on that, we're going to be doing secondary tariffs. If we don't have a deal in 50 days, it's very simple, and they'll be at 100%. That's the way it is. It can be more simple. It's just the way it is. I hope we don't have to do it.”
🚨 TRUMP: "We are very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100%." pic.twitter.com/hsr5DB6xYp
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 14, 2025
Trump has spoken with Putin directly multiple times since taking office. After a July 3 phone call, Trump said the conversation was disappointing and that he made “no progress” with getting Putin to move toward ending the war. He claimed Putin is determined to “keep killing people.”
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In other interviews, Trump blamed Putin for the massive losses of life. “He’s not treating human beings right,” he said.
While Ukraine's allies are now paralyzed chasing Putin's phantom "negotiations", afraid even to apply real sanctions, Russia commits the largest missile and drone attack of the war with over 500 aerial units. pic.twitter.com/hz7k3mFu4y
— Kyiv Insider (@KyivInsider) June 29, 2025
Putin has remained defiant, calling on Ukraine to surrender while escalating airstrikes and drone attacks.
Recently, Trump publicly rebuked the Russian president, referring to his actions as “bullsh**.”
The White House last week announced that it was sending additional weapons to Ukraine to aid its effort to repel the Russian invasion. He is also pushing a plan to sell weapons to NATO allies who would then transfer them to Ukraine to ease the financial burden on the US.
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