Government's plan to address the supermarket duopoly and the NZ Red Cross calls for donations as the death toll from the Myanmar earthquake continues to rise. Video / Getty Images
Donald Trump threatened increased sanctions on Russia as Ukraine ceasefire talks stalled.
Vladimir Putin demanded Volodymyr Zelenskyy be replaced with a transitional government for peace negotiations.
Ukraine accused Russia of prolonging talks and committing a “war crime” in Kharkiv.
Donald Trump has said he is “pissed off” with Vladimir Putin and threatened to ramp up sanctions on Russia as Ukraine ceasefire talks stalled.
The US President said he was “very angry” with his Russian counterpart for demanding that Volodymyr Zelenskyy be replaced with a transitional Government as the price for peace negotiations.
He also threatened to introduce secondary tariffs on Russian energy exports, targeting countries that buy Russian oil and gas with sanctions.
Donald Trump said he was “pissed off” with Vladimir Putin and threatened to ramp up sanctions on Russia as Ukraine ceasefire talks stalled. Photos / Getty Images
“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 – but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” he said.
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25 to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
It came as Russia showed further signs of delaying a truce. Grigory Karasin, who led the Russian delegation in the ceasefire discussions with the US last week, said a ceasefire may not come “this year or at the end of this year”.
“It would be naive to expect any breakthrough results at the very first meeting,” said Karasin, the chairman of Russia’s Federation Council Committee on International Affairs and a former British ambassador, on state television.
Some Ukrainian service members were released in a prisoner exchange and special operations conducted by Ukrainian authorities earlier this month. Photo / Getty Images
His comments came days after Ukraine and Russia agreed to a limited ceasefire on strikes against energy infrastructure and Black Sea operations – which both sides have already accused the other of violating.
It also followed Moscow’s rejection of a full and unconditional 30-day truce, which had been supported by the US and Ukraine, on March 11.
Trump pushing for quick end to the war
Trump has been pushing for a quick end to the war in Ukraine but has also acknowledged that Russia could be trying to delay. “I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they’re dragging their feet,” he said last week in a rare sign of frustration with Putin.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has accused Russia of prolonging talks with no intention of halting its offensive.
“For too long now, America’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table without an adequate response from Russia,” Zelenskyy said at the weekend.
He added that “there could already be a ceasefire if there was real pressure on Russia”, thanking those countries “who understand this” and have stepped up sanctions pressure on the Kremlin.
The Kremlin has said the Black Sea agreements would not come into effect unless links between some Russian banks and the international financial system were restored.
On the battlefield this weekend, the Russian defence ministry claimed to have captured two Ukrainian villages – Shchebraki, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, and Panteleimonivka, in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine also accused Russia of committing a “war crime” after it attacked a military hospital in the city of Kharkiv.
Six strikes hit the northeastern border city overnight on Saturday into Sunday, wounding personnel undergoing treatment at a military hospital and killing at least two people in a residential building, according to Ukrainian officials.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, said a 67-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman were killed in the attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city. Officials said 35 others were wounded.
The Ukrainian army said the military hospital building and nearby residential buildings “were damaged by a Shahed drone”.
“According to preliminary reports, there are casualties among the military personnel who were undergoing treatment at the medical centre,” it added. It accused Russia of a “war crime” and “violating the norms of international humanitarian law”.
In his nightly video address over the weekend, Zelenskyy said Ukraine expected a “serious response” from Western countries to the nearly daily attacks.
“Our partners must understand that these Russian strikes target not only our people, but also all international efforts, diplomatic efforts aimed at ending this war,” he said.
According to the Ukrainian Government and military analysts, Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximise pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks.
