USA Trump's Tariff Threat: Russia on Edge Over US-Ukraine Weapons Plan

[webfact]

File photo for reference only

 

US President Trump issued a stark warning to Russia, threatening hefty tariffs if a peace deal isn't struck within 50 days. Meanwhile, he announced plans to send advanced weapons to Ukraine via NATO allies to bolster its defences against Russian aggression.

 

Trump, after discussions with NATO chief Mark Rutte, unveiled a strategy to equip Ukraine with "top-of-the-line weapons," fully supported by European nations who will contribute their own Patriot air defence systems. Though specifics were sparse, the commitment marks a pivotal boost in military aid for Ukraine, aimed at countering Russia's continued offensives.

 

In a bold move, Trump declared the imposition of 100% secondary tariffs on countries still trading with Russia, potentially affecting their trade with the US. This financial gambit is designed to further squeeze Russia's economy, particularly targeting its crucial oil and gas sectors, which constitute a significant portion of its revenue.

 

The market's immediate reaction was paradoxical, with the Moscow Stock Exchange Index rising. Investors seemed to have braced for even tougher measures, perhaps reassured by detailed limitations of the announced tariffs, which, while impactful, were less severe than anticipated.

 

This marks the first military aid announcement for Ukraine since Trump's return to the presidency, signalling a significant step in US-Ukrainian relations. Trump’s increasingly stern rhetoric on Putin indicates a shift toward a more assertive stance, emphasising action over dialogue amidst ongoing hostilities.

 

Despite these developments, uncertainty looms as ceasefire talks remain stagnant, and diplomatic solutions appear elusive. Trump's frustration is palpable, noting the disconnect between discussions with Putin and the ongoing escalation of Russian air strikes against Ukraine.

 

As the clock ticks on the 50-day deadline, the repercussions of US policy hang in the balance. With global trade and geopolitical dynamics intricately linked, the coming weeks are likely to witness intensive diplomatic activity as the world watches Russia's next move.

 

The Kremlin has yet to officially respond, although initial reactions from Moscow suggest a mixture of scepticism and cautious optimism. Russian officials and commentators downplay the tariff threat, hinting at strategic patience as they await further developments on the international stage.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-07-15

 

 

[morrobay]

And these "top of the line weapons" are too complicated for the Ukrainians to operate. Most likely going to include U.S. personnel to operate...

[expat_4_life]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

US President Trump issued a stark warning to Russia, threatening hefty tariffs if a peace deal isn't struck within 50 days. Meanwhile, he announced plans to send advanced weapons to Ukraine via NATO allies to bolster its defences against Russian aggression.

There was a peace deal on the table in 2022, neutrality for Ukraine (no NATO), semi-autonomy for the Donbas, etc etc - prior to that there was Minsk 1/2.  Call it what you like, there were many opportunitys to avoid the mess we are now in.

Continuing down a path of further escalation. weapons and sanctions, is simply not going to solve the problem nor deter Russia from settling this on the battlefield.  Extremely dangerous, may diplomacy prevail. 

[Tug]

3 hours ago, morrobay said:

And these "top of the line weapons" are too complicated for the Ukrainians to operate. Most likely going to include U.S. personnel to operate...

The Ukrainians have absolutely humiliated the Russian military and their criminal leader.Id say they handled all weapons received with the upmost skill courage and to great effect salva Ukraine evict the orks from your home!

[wavodavo]

3 hours ago, morrobay said:

And these "top of the line weapons" are too complicated for the Ukrainians to operate. Most likely going to include U.S. personnel to operate...

They probably have Ukranian soldeirs  training in the U.S. aleady.

[b17]

He offers Putin almost two months to bomb Ukraine to pieces, but wants people to recommend him for a Nobel peace prize?   So delusional!!

 

If he cared a whit about both democracy and the Ukrainian people, he would IMMEDIATELY  introduce the strongest possible sanctions (both primary and secondary) against Russia and IMMEDIATELY send all necessary weapons (both offensive and defensive) to Ukraine. 

 

TACO (aka Agent Krashvov) is very likely a Russian asset, and will be until his dying day, which cannot come soon enough for people who care about democracy. 

[bamnutsak]

Putin plays trump for another 50 days.

 

trump is all bluster, he'll fold in 50 days, again.

 

All Maga hat, no cattle.

 

 

[frank83628]

37 minutes ago, Tug said:

The Ukrainians have absolutely humiliated the Russian military and their criminal leader.Id say they handled all weapons received with the upmost skill courage and to great effect salva Ukraine evict the orks from your home!

What planet are you on, Ukrainian army is being propped up by Nato

[morrobay]

39 minutes ago, wavodavo said:

They probably have Ukranian soldeirs  training in the U.S. aleady.

Ok but in any event this is serious escalation: NATO/U.S./Russia. Getting close to Oy Vey time

[wavodavo]

3 hours ago, b17 said:

He offers Putin almost two months to bomb Ukraine to pieces, but wants people to recommend him for a Nobel peace prize?   So delusional!!

 

If he cared a whit about both democracy and the Ukrainian people, he would IMMEDIATELY  introduce the strongest possible sanctions (both primary and secondary) against Russia and IMMEDIATELY send all necessary weapons (both offensive and defensive) to Ukraine. 

 

TACO (aka Agent Krashvov) is very likely a Russian asset, and will be until his dying day, which cannot come soon enough for people who care about democracy. 

b17 you don't get Trump says he is anti war so when ukraine hits Russia up the ae

 

3 hours ago, b17 said:

He offers Putin almost two months to bomb Ukraine to pieces, but wants people to recommend him for a Nobel peace prize?   So delusional!!

 

If he cared a whit about both democracy and the Ukrainian people, he would IMMEDIATELY  introduce the strongest possible sanctions (both primary and secondary) against Russia and IMMEDIATELY send all necessary weapons (both offensive and defensive) to Ukraine. 

 

TACO (aka Agent Krashvov) is very likely a Russian asset, and will be until his dying day, which cannot come soon enough for people who care about democracy. 

b17 you you don't get it Trump says he is anti war so when Ukraine bombs the sh#t out of Russia using U.S. balistics paid for by NATO then it's got nothing to do with Trump it is a war between NATO and Russia.Trump will say he just sold them the weapons and it's up to them where they use them. Don't forget he's smarter than the average bear.

[wavodavo]

9 minutes ago, wavodavo said:

b17 you don't get Trump says he is anti war so when ukraine hits Russia up the ae

 

b17 you you don't get it Trump says he is anti war so when Ukraine bombs the sh#t out of Russia using U.S. balistics paid for by NATO then it's got nothing to do with Trump it is a war between NATO and Russia.Trump will say he just sold them the weapons and it's up to them where they use them. Don't forget he's smarter than the average bear.

And then Trumop can still be mates with Putin and ring him up everyday.

[dinsdale]

3 hours ago, Tug said:

The Ukrainians have absolutely humiliated the Russian military and their criminal leader.Id say they handled all weapons received with the upmost skill courage and to great effect salva Ukraine evict the orks from your home!

 You obviously have no idea how the battlefield is going. Let me put it this way. It isn't going Ukraine's way.

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, dinsdale said:

 You obviously have no idea how the battlefield is going. Let me put it this way. It isn't going Ukraine's way.

Neither going Russia's way. Stalemate after 3 years.  

[dinsdale]

16 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Neither going Russia's way. Stalemate after 3 years.  

1^st two weeks of July Russian troops have capture over 300 km². June Russian troops occupied around 550 km². The city of Kostiantynivka is being flanked to it's north and south and Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad are in danger of encirclement. This is not a stalemate. Russian troops continue to occupy more Ukrainian ground. You might want to deny this but I suggest you look at some war maps for the reality of the situation.

[Jingthing]

5 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

Putin plays trump for another 50 days.

 

trump is all bluster, he'll fold in 50 days, again.

 

All Maga hat, no cattle.

 

 

Bingo.

He's disgusting.

[Eric Loh]

20 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

1^st two weeks of July Russian troops have capture over 300 km². June Russian troops occupied around 550 km². The city of Kostiantynivka is being flanked to it's north and south and Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad are in danger of encirclement. This is not a stalemate. Russian troops continue to occupy more Ukrainian ground. You might want to deny this but I suggest you look at some war maps for the reality of the situation.

The prize is the city of Kostiantynivka which is strategic as the gateway into Donetsk. Russia summer offensive started in early June and the city has not fallen. Does seem a stalemate to me. 

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

The prize is the city of Kostiantynivka which is strategic as the gateway into Donetsk. Russia summer offensive started in early June and the city has not fallen. Does seem a stalemate to me. 

Put it this way.

It's very unlikely that Putin's meat army will occupy all of the oblasts that he has proclaimed as already Russia within 50 days. 

 

[b17]

4 hours ago, wavodavo said:

b17 you don't get Trump says he is anti war so when ukraine hits Russia up the ae

 

b17 you you don't get it Trump says he is anti war so when Ukraine bombs the sh#t out of Russia using U.S. balistics paid for by NATO then it's got nothing to do with Trump it is a war between NATO and Russia.Trump will say he just sold them the weapons and it's up to them where they use them. Don't forget he's smarter than the average bear.

I suspect that you have somehow been too quick to ever allow wisdom to catch up with you. Anti war?  Is that why he supports the massacre of Palestinians by way of multi billion dollar payments to Israel every year?  Is that why he agreed to have B2 bombers drop weapons on Iran?  Is that why he threatened to bomb Moscow, just days ago.  Come on...if you believe Trump is anti war, I have a couple of bridges i'd like to sell you. 

[Jingthing]

When it comes to Russia vs. Ukraine, it's time to be PRO WAR on the side of Ukraine to beat Russia ASAP.

Too bad Biden blew it. It could have been done in the first six months but he fell victim to Russia's fear propaganda.

[dinsdale]

3 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

The prize is the city of Kostiantynivka which is strategic as the gateway into Donetsk. Russia summer offensive started in early June and the city has not fallen. Does seem a stalemate to me. 

You seen to be somewhat confused as to the meaning of stalemate. If one side gains ground and the other loses ground this is by definition not a stalemate. Russian gains in the last 6 weeks are around 850 km². Ukrainian losses in the last 6 weeks are around 850 km². Explain how this is a stalemate bearing in mind this is a protracted war of attrition where 10's of metres gained are victories.

These maps are from a Ukrainian war mapper and are always lagging behind. The grey zones which denote being in dispute will eventually be updated to show Russian control (red). I am not cheering for Putin or anything stupid like that I'm simply pointing out the situation on the ground.

https://deepstatemap.live/en#11/48.5179688/37.6556396

 

[thaibreaker]

Trump giving Russia carte blanche to rain bombs over civilian Ukrainians for 50 days, wtf is that...

 

The only positive here is that US have agreed to sell weapons to European countries, who pay for all this help to Ukraine.

 

And the embarrassing Hegseth was wrong, the US still sit on a tremendous amount of weapons, offensive and defensive, but they only agree to let Ukraine have them because Europe is paying for all of them. About time they made this agreement.

[hotsun]

Trump shouldn't help Europe at all. They don't appreciate it in the slightest

[thaibreaker]

4 minutes ago, hotsun said:

Trump shouldn't help Europe at all. They don't appreciate it in the slightest

They're selling these weapons, not helping in any other way. They won't help Ukraine or Europe anymore without gaining something in return, this time it's over a billion dollar.

[thaibreaker]

1 hour ago, dinsdale said:

You seen to be somewhat confused as to the meaning of stalemate. If one side gains ground and the other loses ground this is by definition not a stalemate. Russian gains in the last 6 weeks are around 850 km². Ukrainian losses in the last 6 weeks are around 850 km². Explain how this is a stalemate bearing in mind this is a protracted war of attrition where 10's of metres gained are victories.

These maps are from a Ukrainian war mapper and are always lagging behind. The grey zones which denote being in dispute will eventually be updated to show Russian control (red). I am not cheering for Putin or anything stupid like that I'm simply pointing out the situation on the ground.

https://deepstatemap.live/en#11/48.5179688/37.6556396

 

Russia is currently controlling no more than 19% of Ukraine. It was 18% almost 3 years ago. It is not even the most they have controlled, a few months into this war, they controlled around 26% of Ukraine, before Ukraine hit back.

 

You sound like this is going in a hurry to take over Ukraine. It isn't, far from it. The bigger picture shows a lot like a stalemate, with some movements at very few areas.

I read somewhere that with the same tempo as the last several months going forward, it would take Russia more than 150 years to control the whole of Ukraine. It just shows how little they are gaining. And they have done so at an extremely high cost, a tremendous loss of Russian soldiers' lives, and equipment.

 

And btw, regarding our last conversation about Sumy Oblast, Russia has come to a halt there, and has even been pushed back of several villages. Just as I claimed last time, and you denying it.

[dinsdale]

6 hours ago, thaibreaker said:

Russia is currently controlling no more than 19% of Ukraine. It was 18% almost 3 years ago. It is not even the most they have controlled, a few months into this war, they controlled around 26% of Ukraine, before Ukraine hit back.

 

You sound like this is going in a hurry to take over Ukraine. It isn't, far from it. The bigger picture shows a lot like a stalemate, with some movements at very few areas.

I read somewhere that with the same tempo as the last several months going forward, it would take Russia more than 150 years to control the whole of Ukraine. It just shows how little they are gaining. And they have done so at an extremely high cost, a tremendous loss of Russian soldiers' lives, and equipment.

 

And btw, regarding our last conversation about Sumy Oblast, Russia has come to a halt there, and has even been pushed back of several villages. Just as I claimed last time, and you denying it.

Regarding Sumy I agree. That's come to a bit of a halt but it ties up Ukrainian forces in the region. The below maps are from 3 years ago and the latest map (which as I said lags behind the actual situation) with the cities of Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk circled. Again this is a hard fought, slow moving war of protracted attrition. The difference over 3 years is clear.

July 17 2022 and July 16 2025.

 

[FritsSikkink]

18 hours ago, wavodavo said:

b17 you don't get Trump says he is anti war so when ukraine hits Russia up the ae

 

b17 you you don't get it Trump says he is anti war so when Ukraine bombs the sh#t out of Russia using U.S. balistics paid for by NATO then it's got nothing to do with Trump it is a war between NATO and Russia.Trump will say he just sold them the weapons and it's up to them where they use them. Don't forget he's smarter than the average bear.

Uhhh, USA is a big part of NATO.

[thaibreaker]

8 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Regarding Sumy I agree. That's come to a bit of a halt but it ties up Ukrainian forces in the region. The below maps are from 3 years ago and the latest map (which as I said lags behind the actual situation) with the cities of Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk circled. Again this is a hard fought, slow moving war of protracted attrition. The difference over 3 years is clear.

July 17 2022 and July 16 2025.

 

I don't disagree on that. As I said, there has been some movements at very few areas this last year or two, and that includes Pokrovsk. But it's a very slow progress, and remember, the Russians were only 2-3 km from Pokrovsk City in December last year, and they haven't gotten any closer to the city. But indeed, they are closing in from other directions, but it remains to be seen if Pokrovsk will fall. It has been said from many sources it will, for almost a year now, and sources have been wrong, so far.

We will see, it's a quite crucial town for the progress of this war.

 

However, it's said that Ukraine has had time to make a solid defence line west of Pokrovsk now, to stop further advances.