United States President Donald Trump has expressed strong displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his recent remarks targeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Okay.ng reports that during an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump criticised Putin for calling for Zelensky to be sidelined in favour of a transitional government — a statement made by the Russian leader on Friday amid ongoing tensions in Eastern Europe.
“If I feel we’re in the midst of a negotiation, you could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when Putin started getting into Zelenskyy’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right direction,” Trump said.
“New leadership means you’re not gonna have a deal for a long time.”
The US president, known for his often friendly stance toward Putin, took a rare confrontational tone, warning that if ceasefire negotiations fail and Russia is deemed responsible, he would impose punitive economic measures.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump said.
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25 percent tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
Trump added that the tariffs would come into force within a month if a ceasefire deal is not reached.
The US president also disclosed plans to speak with Putin later in the week as part of ongoing efforts to mediate peace in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions since it began in 2022.
Trump’s sharp rebuke of Putin comes just weeks after he made headlines for attacking Zelensky, calling the Ukrainian president a “dictator” and claiming — without evidence — that he had poor approval ratings in his own country.
The comments signal a shifting tone from Trump, who has long faced scrutiny for his soft approach to Putin, even amid Russia’s widely condemned invasion of Ukraine.
