US president Donald Trump threatened to impose more sanctions and tariffs on Moscow until it agreed to a ceasefire and peace deal with Kyiv, as Ukraine called again for a partial truce following another huge Russian air strike on its energy infrastructure.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!” Mr Trump wrote on social media.
Mr Trump did not go into detail on the possible sanctions against Russia and said later at an Oval Office media briefing that he was finding it more difficult to deal with Ukraine.
The US president says he wants to broker a quick end to Europe’s biggest war since 1945 but, since returning to the White House in January, he has sought to improve ties with Russia while putting intense pressure on Ukraine, and this week halted the supply of US military aid and intelligence to Kyiv.
US and Ukrainian officials are expected to hold talks on bilateral relations and the Russia-Ukraine war in Saudi Arabia next week, after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits Riyadh on Monday.
Earlier on Friday, Ukraine said Russia had targeted energy facilities across the country with an overnight barrage of more than 250 missiles and attack drones, and that French-supplied Mirage fighter planes were scrambled for the first time to intercept incoming threats alongside US-made F-16 jets provided by other EU states.
“The first steps toward real peace must include forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks against life,” Mr Zelenskiy said.
“Silence in the skies – banning the use of missiles, long-range drones, and aerial bombs. And silence at sea – a real guarantee of normal navigation. Ukraine is ready to pursue the path to peace, and it is Ukraine that strives for peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war.”
Mr Zelenskiy praised his country’s air defence forces and drone-jamming units and said that “in particular, the Mirages successfully intercepted Russian cruise missiles.”
The idea of an initial air-and-sea ceasefire was first mooted by France, which has angered Russia by calling for a surge in domestic and Europe-wide defence spending, suggesting that it could use its nuclear arsenal to defend other European states and by saying it could provide troops to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
“This militarisation [of the EU] is happening mainly against the Russian Federation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. “This, of course, could potentially be a topic of deep concern for us and require us to take appropriate countermeasures to ensure our security.”
Moscow has accused France of “threatening” Russia by suggesting that its so-called nuclear umbrella could protect Europe, and denounced Paris and London for proposing a possible peacekeeping mission to Ukraine, which the Kremlin says it would not accept.
European states are also discussing how best to use frozen Russian funds to help Ukraine, and Kyiv said it had received more than €900 million from Britain as part of a loan from G7 states that is backed by income from the Russian assets.
“England’s transfer to Ukraine of funds that belong to Russia is a gross violation of international law. They will have to return to Russia what they are now so generously handing out,” said Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament.
He claimed the move would “undermine trust in the British financial system forever,” and gave Russia “every reason to respond in a similar manner and confiscate British property” on its territory. - Additional reporting: Reuters
