“Thousands of people, mostly young, are dying every week. If possible, I would prevent this by imposing sanctions, using a very strong tariff system that would cause significant harm to Russia, Ukraine, or any involved party,” Trump told reporters at the White House on August 26.
When asked whether he would be willing to sanction Russia if the attacks continued, Trump said he was considering “very serious measures and would implement them if necessary, because I want the conflict to end.”
“We have economic sanctions. I’m discussing economic matters because we will not enter a world war,” Trump explained. “It would be an economic war. It would be very severe and detrimental to Russia—I do not want it to happen.”
Trump added that “it takes two to tango,” noting that “President Zelensky is not entirely blameless.” He also criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for allowing the Russia-Ukraine conflict to escalate.
“No one enters a conflict thinking they will lose. I am certain Ukraine believed it would win. They thought they could defeat an opponent 15 times stronger. Biden should not have let that happen,” Trump said.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine has commented on the remarks.
Trump is seeking to mediate direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an effort to end the conflict, which has now lasted over three years. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed in principle to such negotiations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not.
On August 21, Trump suggested a two-week timeframe to assess the prospects for peace talks, indicating that the U.S. might adopt a different approach afterward, though he did not provide details.