The Kremlin has stated that US President Donald Trump’s recent statements on the Ukraine conflict, including a threat to impose sanctions on Russia’s trading partners, are serious and require time to assess. Trump announced new deliveries of weapons, including Patriot missile systems, to Ukraine via NATO and warned that buyers of Russian exports could face severe tariffs if Moscow fails to agree to a peace deal within 50 days. This move signals a major policy shift in Washington.
“The US president’s statements are very serious. Some of them are addressed personally to President Putin,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. “We certainly need time to analyse what was said in Washington. And if and when President Putin deems it necessary, he will definitely comment.”
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Trump’s announcement, calling it a “theatrical ultimatum” and stating that “Russia didn’t care”. Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev shared similar sentiments, claiming that the US was setting a trap for Europe by forcing NATO states to pay for weapons that would primarily benefit the US arms industry. “Only the American military-industrial complex will profit from this,” Kosachev said.
In contrast, Olesia Horiainova, co-founder of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, expressed hope that the US would continue to sell weaponry to Ukraine and called for “harsher” sanctions on Russia.
She emphasized that US sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil could significantly impact Russia’s economy, saying, “Every dollar that is put into Russia’s economy right now is being spent on the war – so, yes, if the sanctions will be imposed eventually on Russia in 50 days, or earlier hopefully, it will feel that hugely.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte suggested that countries like Brazil, China, and India could be impacted if they continue trading with Russia. “My encouragement to these three countries, particularly is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard,” Rutte said. “So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way.”
Several European countries have pledged to support Trump’s proposal to send more weapons to Ukraine. Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stated that Copenhagen would “do its part” to finance Patriot systems for Ukraine. The Netherlands and Sweden are also exploring ways to support the initiative, with Sweden’s Defence Minister Pal Jonson confirming that Stockholm would contribute to the delivery of weapons.
However, the European Union’s planned 18th sanctions package against Russia stalled after Slovakia requested a delay in the vote. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expressed frustration, saying, “I’m really sad the sanctions didn’t get approved. But I hope they will be passed tomorrow.” Kallas added that the EU welcomes Trump’s commitment to defending Ukraine but emphasized that Washington must also “share the burden”.