More weapons for Ukraine and threatened punitive tariffs – the Russian leadership speaks of "very serious" signals from Washington. Kremlin spokesman Peskov announced an investigation. China, however, condemned Trump's statements.

The Russian government has reacted with irritation to US President Trump's recent statements on Ukraine."The statements are very serious. Some of them are addressed personally to President Putin," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. They need time to review the statements.

Peskov added that the US's willingness to allow other NATO countries to finance weapons for Ukraine does not indicate peace efforts. The Ukrainian side will perceive this as a sign of a continuation of the war.

He assured that Russia was ready for direct negotiations with Ukraine. In recent months, there had been two direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations. The negotiators from Moscow had put forward maximum demands that Ukraine had previously always rejected. Some Western observers therefore doubt that the Russian leadership is interested in productive negotiations.

USA produces, others pay

On Monday, after about six months of mediation efforts, Trump changed his tone toward Russia. The US president emphasized that he was disappointed in Putin. He announced new arms deliveries to Ukraine, which other NATO countries would pay for. These primarily involve"Patriot" air defense systems to fend off the increasingly massive Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested additional air defense for his country. Many NATO countries have been hesitant so far, partly because they fear for their own defense capabilities. The delivery of new US weapons could end this hesitation. According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Germany, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, and Canada have already pledged to finance weapons systems.

Punitive tariffs against China and India?

In addition, Trump threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Russian trading partners if no agreement to end the war is reached within 50 days. This would affect, for example, China and India, which import large amounts of oil and natural gas from Russia.

China condemned the threat of further tariffs."Coercion and pressure will not solve problems," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said."China firmly opposes all unilateral illegal sanctions and extraterritorial jurisdiction."

China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war, but has never condemned the Russian war of aggression. Western countries accuse Beijing of providing crucial support to Moscow in the conflict—for example, by supplying many important goods and products and purchasing fossil fuels from Russia.