Ukraine-Russia War Latest: Trump ‘Very Angry’ With Putin for Stalling Ceasefire and Threatens More Sanctions
By Alex Croft, Shweta Sharma
US president Donald Trump is “very angry” and “pissed off” with Vladimir Putin for his suggestion Volodymyr Zelensky should be replaced by a UN-mandated government.
Mr Trump told NBC News he was furious with the Russian leader over his suggestion a temporary administration should be installed to replace Mr Zelensky.
He said Mr Putin’s comments were “not going in the right direction” and threatened to slap sanctions on Russian oil if a ceasefire could not be agreed between Kyiv and Moscow.
“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 — which it might not be — I am going to put secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia,” he warned.
Speaking from the far north Russian city of Murmansk last week, Mr Putin floated the idea as a way of allowing Ukraine to “hold democratic elections”.
Mr Zelensky has served beyond his term due to elections being put on hold under martial law following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Two killed as Russia bombs military hospital, shopping centre and residential areas
Two people were killed and dozens wounded after Russian drones hit a military hospital, shopping centre and apartment blocks in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s General Staff had denounced the “deliberate, targeted shelling” of the military hospital late on Saturday.
Among the casualties were service members who were undergoing treatment, it said.
Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said those killed were a 67-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman.
Mr Zelensky said on Sunday that over the past week “most regions of Ukraine” had come under Russian attack.
Writing on X, he repeated his assertion that “Russia is dragging out the war”, echoing comments he made on Thursday that Russia is prolonging ceasefire talks “just to buy time and then try to grab more land”.
Trump threatens secondary sanctions on Russian oil buyers
Donald Trump has threatened secondary sanctions on Russian oil, a move that analysts say could have a far-reaching effect on the oil market.
Mr Trump said there would be “a 25 to 50-point tariff on all oil” if a deal is not made between Russia and Ukraine and “if I think it was Russia’s fault”.
“Anybody buying oil from Russia will not be able to sell their product, any product, not just oil, into the United States.”
Analysts suggest that India and China – the biggest buyers of Russian oil – would be the worst affected by the secondary sanctions.
Russia is one of the world’s three largest oil exporters, meaning it could have a punishing impact on those buying Russian oil and distruptions in the trade would have a destabilising impact on the market.
U.S. President Donald Trump departs for Washington, from West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 30, 2025
William Reinsch, a former senior Commerce Department official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the haphazard way Mr Trump was announcing and threatening tariffs leaves many questions unanswered, including how US officials could trace and prove which countries were buying Russian oil.
India has surpassed China to become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, which comprised about 35 per cent of India’s total crude imports in 2024.
Russia claims to have taken control of Zaporizhzhia settlement in Donetsk
Russia’s defence ministry says it has captured Zaporizhzhia, a village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, after a missile attack.
“Battlegroup Center units completed the liberation of the settlement of Zaporozhye in the Donetsk People’s Republic through successful offensive operations,” the ministry said in a statement, using its own names for the village and the region that it claims to have annexed, illegally, from Ukraine.
It said a missile strike on Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) units killed up to 170 troops and foreign mercenaries over the past day.
The village is unrelated to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which is in another region of the same name to the south.
The village lies just 7km from the border of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region.
Trump warns Zelensky of ‘big problems’ if he backs out of mineral deal
After threatening Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump warned Ukraine’s president Volodomyr Zelensky of “big, big problems” ahead if he backs out of a mineral deal with the US.
The US president’s remarks come hours after he criticised Russian president Vladimir Putin for comments he made about the leader of Ukraine.
“He’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal,” Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One of Mr Zelensky, referring to an agreement that would provide the US with access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
“If he does that, he’s got some problems. Big, big problems. We made a deal on rare earth. And now he’s saying, ‘well you know, I want to renegotiate the deal’.”
Speaking en route from Florida to Washington, Mr Trump said: “He wants to be a member of Nato. He was never going to be a member of Nato. He understands that.”
Although he insisted to reporters that “we’re making a lot of progress”, he acknowledged that “there’s tremendous hatred” between Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin, a fresh indication that negotiations may not produce the swift conclusion that he promised during the campaign.
In an earlier interview with NBC News, he referenced comments Mr Putin made on Friday about temporarily putting Ukraine under external governance.
Mr Trump said he was “angry, pissed off” when the Russian leader “started getting into Zelensky’s credibility”.
‘Gangster’ Putin making mockery of truce efforts, Ukrainian MP tells Independent
Vladimir Putin is making a mockery of ceasefire efforts, a Ukrainian MP has told The Independent.
Oleksandr Merezhko, who chairs the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign policy committee, said earlier this week that Donald Trump may change his attitude towards the Russian autocrat when he realises Putin is not serious about peace.
Mr Trump’s declaration that he is “p***** off” at the Russian autocrat could be the first evidence of such a change in attitude.
Dealing with Putin is “worse than dealing with gangsters” because “you can never trust, you can never rely [on him]”, Mr Merezhko said.
He added: “It’s an illusion to believe you can make a deal with Putin [which will] be followed conscientiously by Putin. It’s a total illusion.
“Trump should understand that on Putin’s part, it’s a mockery. It’s a mockery, all this negotiation process. When Trump realises this, maybe he will change his attitude towards Putin.”
In pictures: Russian attack on Kharkiv kills two and injures dozens
Rescuers inspect the rubble of the building following a drone attack in Kharkiv on March 29
Police officers stand near a crater after the explosion
Two people were killed in the attack on Kharkiv
Starmer’s coalition of the willing: What does it hope to do?
Sir Keir Starmer has updated US president Donald Trump about recent talks between European countries concerning the proposed ‘coalition of the willing’ peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
But what actually is the coalition?
The central focus of the coalition of the willing is a peacekeeping force, and European leaders are expected to discuss what, exactly, they are willing to contribute to a military effort on the ground in Ukraine.
The group also needs support from the US, which has provided crucial intelligence information to Ukraine throughout the conflict.
So far only the UK and France have committed to providing troops to the cause, and Sir Keir will present a detailed plan on what that peacekeeping force could provide to leaders at the Elysee Palace on Thursday.
The leaders are also expected to discuss ongoing military aid and funding to bolster Ukraine’s military.
Ukrainians expect Russia to launch a fresh offensive to strengthen its negotiating position
Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize the pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks, Ukrainian government and military analysts said.
The move could give Russian President Vladimir Putin every reason to delay discussions about pausing the fighting in favor of seeking more land, the Ukrainian officials said, renewing their country’s repeated arguments that Russia has no intention of engaging in meaningful dialogue to end the war.
Original source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-trump-putin-ceasefire-sanctions-news-b2724286.html
