Trump ‘pissed off’ with Russian President Vladimir Putin, threatens new tariffs on Russian oil

President Trump is unhappy with Russian President Vladimir Putin and is warning that he could impose new tariffs on Russia’s oil exports.

Mr. Trump said he was “very angry” and “p—-ed off” after Mr. Putin questioned whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be replaced with a temporary United Nations-run government.

“That’s not going in the right location,” Mr. Trump said over the weekend in an interview with NBC News. “I was p—-ed off about it. But if a deal isn’t made, and if I think it was Russia’s fault, I’m going to put secondary sanctions on Russia.”

Mr. Trump said he is prepared to slap new 25% to 50% tariffs on Russian energy exports if “Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine.”

“Anybody buying oil from Russia will not be able to sell their product, any product, not just oil, into the United States,” he said.

In remarks broadcast Friday, Mr. Putin suggested that Ukraine “hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the trust of the people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty.”

“Under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine,” Mr. Putin said.

Ukraine has not held elections since the Russian invasion in 2022, which pushed the nation into a state of martial law, thereby postponing elections.

Mr. Putin’s latest comments added to the sense that the prospects of striking a deal to wind down the war are still far off. The Russian president has rejected Mr. Trump’s proposal for a complete 30-day cease-fire that Ukraine had previously endorsed.

Mr. Zelenskyy has expressed skepticism about Russia’s willingness to negotiate an end to the war and has warned that Mr. Putin could not be trusted to abide by any deal.

Over the weekend, Russian drones hit a military hospital, a shopping center and apartment blocks in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, killing two people and wounding dozens.

Ukraine’s General Staff denounced the “deliberate, targeted shelling” of the military hospital late Saturday. Among the casualties were service members who were undergoing treatment, it said. Regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said those killed were a 67-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman.

Ukrainian government and military analysts expect Russian forces to launch a new military offensive in the coming weeks to strengthen their negotiating position in the ceasefire talks.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia fired 111 exploding drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks overnight into Sunday. It said 65 of them were intercepted and another 35 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Sunday that over the past week, “most regions of Ukraine” came under Russian attack. Writing on X, he said “1,310 Russian guided aerial bombs, over 1,000 attack drones — mostly ‘Shaheds’ — and nine missiles of various types, including ballistic ones” had been launched against Ukraine.

He also repeated his charges that “Russia is dragging out the war,” echoing comments he made Thursday in Paris that Russia is prolonging ceasefire talks “just to buy time and then try to grab more land.”

On Sunday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma Republican, said he would “absolutely” support Mr. Trump if he imposes tariffs on Russia.

“What has happened here is that Putin, he doesn’t feel, is negotiating on actual terms,” Mr. Mullin said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “He keeps delaying and what President Trump has said right now is, if he continues to play games, he’s going to get tough on Russia.”

“What everybody needs to know, and I think they already know this about President Trump, is he doesn’t bluff,” he said. “His words have meaning. And when he’s done, he is done, and he’s moving on to plan B.”