US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was considering hitting Moscow with sanctions amid a strong Russian counter-offensive in Ukraine that has threatened to turn the tide against Kyiv.
Later, Mr Trump said he was "finding it more difficult" to deal with Ukraine and that it might be easier to deal with Russia.
Ukraine’s air force announced on Friday morning that Russia fired 67 missiles and 194 drones overnight, targeting energy infrastructure including gas production. Ukrainian forces shot down about half the missiles and drones, with the help of French Mirage jets.
“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 ceasefire and final settlement agreement on peace is reached,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
-
To mark the third year of the Ukraine-Russia war, The National looks back at some of the striking images captured during the conflict. Getty Images -
Ukrainians working at the site of a rocket strike on the 'Okhmadyt' children's hospital in Kyiv in 2024. EPA -
A woman walks past a memorial wall dedicated to fallen defenders of Ukraine in downtown Kyiv in 2024. EPA -
A damaged town sign in Orikhiv, near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, in 2024. EPA -
Gravediggers prepare the burial site for victims of a Russian missile strike in Hroza in 2023. Getty Images -
Widow Lubov Doroshenko, 67, returns to her destroyed home in 2023 in Bohorodychne. Getty Images -
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 24 Separate Mechanized Brigade fires a mortar towards Russian positions, at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region in 2023. EPA -
Emergency workers search the remains of a residential building that was struck by a Russian missile in Dnipro in 2023. Getty Images -
Ukrainian national flags waving over the graves of fallen Ukrainian soldiers in a military cemetery in Kharkiv in 2023. EPA -
A woman walks by destroyed buildings 20 miles west from the front lines of fighting in the Donetsk Region in 2023. Getty Images -
A view taken through the broken glass of a window overlooking the site of a damaged residential building in Dnipro in 2023. EPA -
Numbers mark the graves of unidentified people killed during fighting at the cemetery in Mariupol in 2022. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen shoot from a captured Russian 152, 4mm howitzer Msta-B on a front line near Kupyansk city in 2022. EPA -
A prothesis is adjusted on an Azov Regiment serviceman at a rehabilitation centre in Kyiv in 2022. EPA -
Cars drive past the shell of a rocket in Shevchenkove, Kharkiv region, in 2022. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman rests while travelling with a team of humanitarian volunteers in the Kherson area in 2022. EPA -
A destroyed bridge in Kupiansk in 2022. Getty Images -
A girl arrives at an evacuation point for people fleeing Mariupol, Melitopol and the surrounding towns under Russian control in 2022. Getty Images -
The mother of Ukrainian serviceman Andrii Verkhoglyad holds her son's portrait during his funeral ceremony at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv in 2022. EPA -
Self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic militia monitors a section of the road near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, in 2022. EPA -
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse after it was hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv in 2022. Getty Images -
A Ukrainian soldier waves the Ukrainian national flag while standing on top of an armoured personnel carrier in Hostomel in 2022. Getty Images -
A man pushes his bike through debris and destroyed Russian military vehicles in Bucha in 2022. Getty Images -
Residents of Irpin flee heavy fighting in 2022. Getty Images -
A child on a swing outside a residential building damaged by a missile in Kyiv in 2022. Getty Images
He urged Russia and Ukraine to “get to the table right now, before it is too late”. While signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Mr Trump said Ukraine does not "have the cards", while Russia has "all the cards". Russia was "bombing the hell out of" Ukraine, he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for an air and sea truce following the aerial attack. In a post on Telegram, he called for “silence” in the seas and skies over his country, saying “first steps toward real peace must include forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks against life”.
The US President's comments come a week after Mr Zelenskyy's contentious visit to Washington, where an Oval Office press event descended into a shouting match between the Ukrainian leader and Mr Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance. The two American leaders accused Mr Zelenskyy of not being grateful for US aid and for not being serious about wanting peace.
Mr Zelenskyy had been visiting the White House to discuss the signing of a deal that would see the US gain access to billions of dollars in Ukraine's rare earth mineral wealth in payment for military aid.
After the meeting, the US paused military aid and later intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The row alarmed European leaders, who saw Mr Trump as turning against an ally at a critical moment in the war.
Despite the public clash with Mr Zelenskyy, Mr Trump will send officials to Saudi Arabia in the coming days to meet Ukrainian representatives to discuss ending the conflict. A previous meeting, also in Saudi Arabia, was held between US and Russian representatives.
"I've always had a good relationship with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. And, you know, he wants to end the war," Mr Trump said. "And I think he's going to be more generous than he has to be. And that's pretty good."
Russia is already under heavy US sanctions across a range of industries, including oil and gas.
