āBased on the fact that Russia is absolutely āpoundingā 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,ā Trump posted Friday on Truth Social.
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āTo Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,ā he added.
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Trumpās threat of sanctions against Russia comes days before members of his administration areĀ set to meetĀ with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia to discuss a path toward ending the war. The same administration officials had met with their Russian counterpartsĀ in Riyadh last month.
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The president has spoken with Ukrainian PresidentĀ Volodymyr ZelenskyĀ andĀ Russian PresidentĀ Vladimir PutinĀ aboutĀ the conflict, though he has been much moreĀ critical of Zelensky, and the U.S. suspended military aidĀ and intelligence sharingĀ with Kyiv in recent days.
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Later on Friday Trump warned that the U.S. would fully cut off its support for Ukraine if it did not agree to settle its war against Russia, telling reporters it has been āmore difficultā to deal with Kyiv than with Moscow.
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But Republican lawmakers are starting to urge the president to reverse his decision to pause the military aid and intelligence sharing, warning that a prolonged stoppage of U.S. support for the war effort would have a seriously detrimental effect.
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Stopping the flow of weapons and munitions to Ukraine for too long could have a devastating effect on Ukraineās warfighting ability, which would undercut its leverage in talks with Russia, they say.
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Trump has pressed for an end to the war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022 when Russian forces launched an invasion after amassing troops along the border.Ā
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Read the full report at TheHill.com.
