Kremlin's chilling three-word response to Donald Trump's tariff threat

U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of mixed signals during private conversations and continued missile strikes in Ukraine.

“My conversations with him are very pleasant,” Trump told reporters at the White House, “and then the missiles go off at night. It just keeps going on and on and on.”

Trump’s remarks came as he announced a new series of proposed “secondary tariffs” on Russia—measures that would not only target Moscow directly, but also penalize other countries that continue doing business with the Kremlin. These tariffs are expected to go into effect in 50 days, unless Russia engages meaningfully in peace talks.

The president also revealed plans for European allies to purchase billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. military equipment, which would then be transferred to Ukraine to help replenish depleted stockpiles.

The move has been sharply criticized by top Russian officials, including Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chair of the Security Council. Known for his increasingly aggressive rhetoric since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev dismissed Trump’s threats as political theater.

“Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The world shuddered… Russia didn’t care.”

Once seen as a more moderate voice within the Kremlin, Medvedev has since embraced a far more hardline public stance—repeatedly threatening Western nations, mocking NATO, and issuing nuclear warnings. Many analysts see his behavior as a bid to maintain political relevance within Russia’s shifting power dynamics, especially as Putin continues to consolidate control.

Despite the saber-rattling, the Biden-Trump administration’s position signals a growing impatience with Putin’s unwillingness to de-escalate the war. Whether this pressure campaign leads to substantive peace efforts or further escalates global tensions remains to be seen.