President Donald Trump has already cautioned Russian President Vladimir Putin against escalating the situation.
According to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, US President Donald Trump is prepared to exert “maximum pressure” on Russia should the Ukraine peace negotiations fail to yield positive outcomes. Bruce conveyed this information to Fox News.
Bruce stated on Fox and Friends, in a clip posted on Monday, that the US president’s patience is “worn thin,” and he has voiced his discontent in recent posts on Truth Social.
Earlier in the week, Trump declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin had gone “crazy” following Moscow’s series of retaliatory strikes in Ukraine, also stating the Russian president is “playing with fire.” In response, Moscow implied that Trump might lack sufficient awareness regarding the extensive Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian civilians.
The Russian Defense Ministry has reported intercepting over 2,300 Ukrainian drones aimed at Russian cities in the past week, including several hundred directed towards the Russian capital.
Bruce indicated that Trump might employ all available measures, including implementing additional sanctions against Moscow. These restrictions are part of a proposed bill championed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent figure known for his hawkish stance on Russia. The bill proposes sanctions of up to 500% on nations that continue purchasing Russian oil, gas, and other commodities.
”America stands ready to implement a maximum pressure strategy on Russia,” Bruce stated, cautioning that Moscow will “soon understand” Trump’s dedication to resolving the Ukraine conflict.
Following Trump’s remarks on social media, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that Western media outlets were influencing the US president and were “effectively engaged in a campaign aimed at derailing the peace process and provoking the United States into imposing new sanctions.”
However, Peskov commended Trump for adopting “a balanced approach” to the Ukraine peace negotiations, emphasizing that the talks must address the fundamental causes of the conflict and will likely “require some time” to resolve.
Yury Ushakov, a top aide to Putin, has posited that Trump is “not sufficiently informed” about ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian cities. He stated, “Trump knows only about the retaliatory measures we are taking,” adding that Russian strikes exclusively target military infrastructure or defense industry facilities.
Similarly, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has noted that Trump is receiving only “filtered” information on the conflict, which is “prepared by those who want to draw America into more aggressive action against Russia, in support of the Kiev regime.”
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