Trump threatens new sanctions and tariffs on Russia until Ukraine ceasefire agreed

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia over its bombardments of Ukraine, after previously suspending US aid to Kyiv in a stated bid to encourage diplomacy.
His comments, published on the Truth Social platform, came hours after Russia launched a "massive" drone and missile attack on Ukrainian energy facilities Friday.
"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," Trump wrote.
"To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late," he added.
A senior White House official echoed this message on Friday.
"President Trump is adamant that we need to get everybody to the table, and we could do that with carrots, and we can do that with sticks," Kevin Hassett, director of the president's National Economic Council told reporters.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed calls for a mutual halt to aerial attacks on critical infrastructure following the latest the Russian attack.
His proposal to halt aerial bombardments on energy facilities builds on growing rhetoric from Kyiv, Washington and Moscow on halting the war, now in its fourth year.
The Ukrainian leader said the first steps to establishing real peace should be stopping both Russian and Ukrainian aerial and naval attacks.
"Ukraine is ready to go the way of peace, and it is Ukraine that wants peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war," he wrote in a post on social media.
Ukraine's allies abroad have voiced support for Zelensky's truce proposal and on Friday Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who recently hosted the Ukrainian leader, also gave it his backing.
The Kremlin has previously ruled out a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine.
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