US President Donald Trump says he was "pissed off" at Russian President Vladimir Putin and will impose secondary tariffs of 25 to 50 per cent on buyers of Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump on Sunday told NBC News he was very angry after Putin last week criticised the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's leadership, the television network reported, citing a telephone interview early on Sunday.
Since taking office in January, Trump has adopted a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has left Western allies wary as he tries to broker an end to Moscow's three-year-old war in Ukraine.
His sharp comments about Putin reflect his growing frustration about the lack of movement on a ceasefire.
"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 ... I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump said.
“That would be, that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” Trump said.
“There will be a 25 per cent tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
Trump said he could impose the new trade measures within a month.
There was no immediate reaction from Moscow. Russia has called numerous Western sanctions and restrictions “illegal” and designed for the West to take economic advantage in its rivalry with Russia.
Trump, who spent the weekend at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, told NBC News he planned to speak with Putin this week. The two leaders have had two publicly announced telephone calls in recent months but may have had more contacts, the Kremlin said in video footage last week.
The White House had no immediate comment on when the call would take place, or if Trump would also speak with Zelenskiy.
Trump has focused heavily on ending what he calls a "ridiculous" war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but has made little progress.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone strike on Ukraine's second-largest city killed two people and wounded 35, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urges Kyiv's ally partners to respond to such attacks while seeking peace in the three-year-old war.
The strike on the eastern city of Kharkiv late on Saturday damaged a military hospital among other structures.
It came as Ukraine seeks strong backing from Western allies to pressure Russia into ending its full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said five children were wounded in the attack, which also damaged several dozen residential buildings and a dormitory housing war refugees.
One survivor, who identified himself as Anton, described running to an adjacent room in his apartment when a drone struck and showered him with shrapnel.
"I had already bid farewell to life," said the 22-year-old, whose head and left hand were heavily bandaged.
Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that Russia had launched 111 drones and one ballistic missile overnight, causing damage in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa and Donetsk regions.
It said air defences shot down 65 drones and jammed another 35.
Russia's Defence Ministry said in a daily bulletin its forces had struck 140 districts in Ukraine, including military airfields and ammunition depots.
It did not mention the hospital.
