US President Donald Trump is “very angry” and with Vladimir Putin for his suggestion Volodymyr Zelensky should be replaced by a UN-mandated interim government as part of a ceasefire deal.
Mr Trump told NBC News he was furious with the Russian leader over his suggestion that a temporary administration should be installed to negotiate an end to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Threatening to slap secondary sanctions on Russian oil if a ceasefire could not be agreed between Kyiv and Moscow, Mr Trump said he was “disappointed” with Mr Putin’s comments.
“If a deal isn’t made, and if I think it was Russia’s fault, I’m going to put secondary sanctions on Russia,” Mr Trump said, adding that there would be “a 25 to 50-point tariff on all oil”.
At the same time, the US president was also critical of Mr Zelensky, saying he was “trying to back out of the rare earth deal“ and warned him of “big, big problems” if he doesn’t sign.
Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continue as the political wrangling goes on. On Monday, Kyiv’s air force said that Moscow launched 131 drones and
two ballistic missiles during overnight attacks, including strikes on the second city Kharkiv.
Russia said it intercepted 66 Ukrainian drones launched overnight.
Moscow’s defence ministry said 41 of the drones were estroyed over the border Bryansk region, 24 over the territory of the Kaluga region and one over the territory of the Kursk region.
No damage was reported as a result of the attacks.
China’s foreign minister is travelling to Moscow today for talks with his Russian counterpart.
Wang Yi is set to meet Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, though the visit threatens to be overshadowed by Donald Trumps’ comments on Vladimir Putin.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, emphasised Beijing’s assertions of neutrality in the Ukraine conflict.
“We always believe that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way out of the crisis. China’s cooperation with Russia does not target a third party and should not be affected by any third party,” Guo told reporters at a daily briefing.
Russian milbloggers have claimed Moscow has changed its drone strike tactics, a war monitoring think-tank has reported.
US based think-tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), said a Kremlin-affiliated milbloggers agreed with reports that Russian forces had altered their long-range drone strike tactics.
It said that Putin’s forces now have drones “loiter several kilometers from their targets at high altitudes before conducting synchronized strikes with multiple drones”.
The milblogger speculated that these tactics have been used in recent Russian attacks on Kharkiv, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, the ISW said.
Kyiv’s ministry of defence has announced the creation of a space policy department.
The department to become a point of contact for both domestic and international developers and scientists to help develop Ukraine’s space sector.
“During these three years of full-scale invasion, Ukraine has gained invaluable experience in the space sector thanks to our partners,” Kateryna Chernogorenko, deputy minister of defence of Ukraine for digitalization said.
“Despite the challenges of the war, we have not only maintained our ambitions for space, but are also ready to implement them.”
Shares across Asia slumped on Monday after president Donald Trump threatened a global trade war with a tariffs for all nations.
Stocks tumbled from Japan to Hong Kong, with the Nikkei 225 down by 4 per cent, falling to its lowest level in over six months, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sinking by 1.3 per cent.
The shock was felt across markets with the US president set to impose a barrage of tariffs on all goods from overseas from Wednesday – a day he has dubbed America’s “Liberation Day”.
After saying he was “very angry” with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump threatened to impose 50 per cent secondary tariffs on Russian oil.
The US president said if a peace deal with Ukraine is not made – and he believes it to be Moscow’s fault – we would introduce a 25 to 50 per cent secondary tariff on those still buying oil from Russia.
“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 – I am going to put secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia,” he said.
“That would be, that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States.”
Secondary tariffs could mean countries who buy oil from Russia will face large tax bills on goods entering the US.
The move could hit China and India particularly hard. India has surpassed China to become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, which comprised about 35 per cent of India’s total crude imports in 2024.
Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have discussed the Coalition of the Willing’s plans, Downing Street said.
The prime minister updated Trump on the plans for the potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine in a phone call on Sunday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Discussing Ukraine, the Prime Minister updated the President on the productive discussions at the meeting of the Coalition of Willing in Paris this week. The leaders agreed on the need to keep up the collective pressure on Putin.
“They agreed to stay in touch in the coming days.”
Russia repeatedly bombed the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv over the weekend, with the latest attacks leaving several injured.
On Monday morning, Kyiv said two people had been injured in overnight attacks which sparked fires and damaged a kindergarten and private homes.
The strikes followed another on Kharkiv over the weekend, which killed two people and wounded 35, Ukrainian official said.
A strike on the city of Kupiansk, east of Kharkiv, late on Sunday also left three injured and demolished more than 10 houses and a local cemetery.
Trump: Ukraine will never be
member of NATO
Addressing Zelensky’s alleged attempts to back out of the rare earth deal, Donald Trump said he’s “never going to be a member of Nato”.
The US president has claimed that Kyiv is trying to back out of the proposed deal, which will give the US access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits.
Trump warned Zelensky could face “big problems” if he backs out, after the Ukrainian leader said he would not sign a deal if it interfered with potential plans to join the EU.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One: “He wants to be a member of Nato, but he’s never going to be a member of Nato. He understands that.”
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