Donald Trump has warned Vladimir Putin ‘there will be very severe consequences’ if Russia does not agree to stop the war in Ukraine after their meeting on Friday.
The US President took a tougher tone against the dictator yesterday saying he was yet to be convinced he would be able to persuade Putin to stop killing civilians.
European leaders also said Mr Trump had agreed to make an immediate ceasefire at the start of negotiations a priority – something that will be painful for Moscow which is gaining territory by the day.
In more encouraging news for Ukraine, the US President said tomorrow is only ‘setting the table’ for a second meeting where Volodymyr Zelensky will be present.
Mr Trump cautioned that if he ‘doesn’t get the answers’ he needs on Friday ‘then we’re not going to have a second meeting’.
Asked if Russia will face consequences in that scenario, Mr Trump said: ‘Yes, they will. There will be consequences.’
Asked if that would be sanctions or tariffs, Trump said: ‘I don’t have to say. There will be very severe consequences.’
But he hoped that there would be a ‘quick second meeting’ following the summit between Putin, Zelensky ‘and myself if they’d like to have me there’.
The US President took a tougher tone against the dictator yesterday saying he was yet to be convinced he would be able to persuade Putin to stop killing civilians
Trump said he hoped that there would be a ‘quick second meeting’ following the summit between Putin, Zelensky ‘and myself if they’d like to have me there’
In more encouraging news for Ukraine, the US President said tomorrow is only ‘setting the table’ for a second meeting where Volodymyr Zelensky will be present
Ukrainian drones hit Rosneft oil depot in Sochi, sparking massive fire and explosions near airport on August 3, 2025
Describing the purpose of Alaska, Mr Trump said it was ‘to find out where we are and what we are doing’ before a ‘more productive meeting’ with Ukraine present.
It is hoped that this second summit would take place in a neutral European country.
Yesterday it emerged Mr Trump is planning to offer Putin access to rare earth minerals to incentivise him to end the war including opening up Alaska’s natural resources to Moscow and lifting some sanctions.
It may also include giving Russia access to the rare earth minerals in the Ukrainian territories under their occupation, the Telegraph reported.
JD Vance yesterday said the US President had vowed that they would ‘bring peace to Europe’ in a speech at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
He channelled the spirit of how America and Britain had brought peace by victory in World War Two after spending the week with Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent.
Describing what he and Mr Lammy had discussed, the Vice President said: ‘What we did is we worked on one of our most important shared security goals in Europe, which is the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
JD Vance yesterday said the US President had vowed that they would ‘bring peace to Europe’ in a speech at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire
Mr Zelensky, who dialled in from Berlin where he was meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, described the talks as ‘constructive and good’
‘The President of the United States came in six months ago, and I just talked to him right before I came on the stage, and he said very simply that we are going to make it our mission as an administration to bring peace to Europe once again.’
It marked a successful day of European diplomacy after Mr Trump’s deeply concerning press conference on Monday where he appeared to blame Mr Zelensky for the war and take a softer stance against Putin.
EU leaders scrambled to hold a virtual summit with the US President and the Ukrainian leader yesterday which Mr Trump said he ‘would rate a 10’.
Afterwards Mr Zelensky, who dialled in from Berlin where he was meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, described the talks as ‘constructive and good’.
He said that ‘Trump supported us today’ and that leaders around the world are unified towards reaching ‘peace in Ukraine’.
Mr Zelensky also warned leaders that Putin ‘is bluffing’ that sanctions ‘do not matter to him and are ineffective’ as they are in fact ‘hitting Russia’s war economy hard’.
Chancellor Merz reiterated to Mr Trump that they must apply more ‘pressure’ on Putin if there is no movement towards peace.
French President Emmanuel Macron (left) speaks by video conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left, onscreen) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (right) on Wednesday. The leaders also had a joint call with President Donald Trump
He said the US president ‘knows this position and agrees with it’. Chancellor Merz also stressed that a ceasefire must come at the beginning of negotiations – and that Mr Trump ‘also wants to make this one of his priorities’.
Sir Keir Starmer, who was also present on the call, said the ‘coalition of the willing’ is ready to deploy a ‘reassurance force’ when the moment arises.
In more encouraging signs, Mr Vance joined a call for the coalition of the willing for the first time yesterday, dialling in from RAF Fairford before Mr Trump also joined.
It marks a significant turn around since the Vice President disparagingly dismissed the peacekeeping proposal in March as ‘20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years’.
Sir Keir said yesterday: ‘For three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on and we haven’t got anywhere near the prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire – and now we do have that chance because of the work that the president has put in.’
