Trump Raises Possibility Of 'Economic War' If Russia Refuses To Move Toward Peace

US President Donald Trump again played down the likelihood of a quick meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian leaders and raised the possibility of new sanctions on Moscow, although he also said the Ukrainian side is not without blame.

"I want to see that [war] end," Trump told reporters on August 26 at the White House. "It's very, very serious what I have in mind, if I have to do it. But I want to see it end."

"We want to have an end. We have economic sanctions."

"It will not be a world war, but it will be an economic war," Trump said. "An economic war is going to be bad, and it's going to be bad for Russia, and I don't want that."

Trump has long used the threat of economic sanctions or high tariffs against other nations in international matters.

He has warned about, but not yet imposed, economic measures against Moscow, although Washington and the West have slapped a series of crippling sanctions on Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"I think that in many ways, he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] is there. Sometimes he'll be there and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy won't be there.”

“You know, it's like, who do we have today? I've got to get them both at the same time.," added Trump following a televised Cabinet meeting that lasted over three hours.

"Zelenskyy is not exactly innocent, either. I get along with him now, but we have a much different relationship because now, we're not paying any money to Ukraine," said Trump, referring to a deal in which NATO members buy US weapons for use by Kyiv.

In his latest comments, he also hinted at the possibility of measures against Kyiv without providing details.

"I'm on very good terms with Putin. If I can save thousands of people from dying through sanctions against Russia or Ukraine or whomever, it's good."

When asked about Putin's refusal to meet directly with Zelenskyy and the Kremlin's questioning of the Ukrainian leader's "legitimacy," Trump said, "It doesn't matter what [the Russians] say. They are all posturing. It's all bullshit."

Russia has pressed ahead with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine with no pause following Trump's meetings with Putin in Alaska on August 15 and with Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House three days later.

Trump, who has been seeking to broker an end to the war since he took office in January, used the meetings to press for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, who have not met in person since 2019.

Zelenskyy -- who has pressed for such a meeting with Putin -- on August 26 said Turkey, the Gulf States, or European countries could play host to any negotiations the two might eventually hold.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, told NBC TV last week that "this agenda is not ready at all.”

Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, later said he will soon meet with Ukrainian representatives in New York.

"I'm meeting with the Ukrainians this week...and that's a big signal," he told Fox News. "We talk to the Russians every day."

Russia's Battlefield Gains

Meanwhile, Ukrainian military leaders updated Zelenskyy on developments in the east of the country, where Russia has made battlefield gains in recent months against the outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian army.

"Our main attention is now focused primarily on Pokrovsk, Dobropillya, Novopavlivsk, and Kupyansk, as well as on the Zaporizhzhya directions," Ukraine's top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, wrote on Telegram.

Syrskiy reported that "we have positive trends in the border areas of Sumy and Kharkiv regions," although battlefield claims cannot always be immediately verified.

Kyiv has been urgently seeking more weapons from the West amid concerns that, even after the two recent summits in the United States, Russia is "not interested" in peace, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy told RFE/RL's Current Time on August 25.

The United States and European nations have supplied Ukraine with billions of dollars' worth of aid and military hardware since the start of the full-scale invasion, although Trump has pressed Europe to take over much of the burden.

Mykhaylo Podolyak said Kyiv has been in "active consultations" with US and European officials "about increasing the supply of various tools for conducting counter war operations."

Off the battlefield, the Ukrainian government said it has granted men up to the age of 22 permission to leave the country despite the ongoing war.

"Men between the ages of 18 and 22 can cross the border unhindered during the state of war," Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Telegram.

Kyiv had barred men between 18 and 60 years of age from leaving the country since Russia began the full-scale war.

The introduction of martial law that restricted Ukrainian men's foreign travels has separated families, disrupted studies and work opportunities abroad, and created tensions at border crossings.

Ukrainian media have reported on people complaining about an apparent gap between ordinary citizens' sacrifices and the privileges enjoyed by families of political elites.

Media reports in Ukraine have also said the travel ban has led to a rise in illegal border crossings, fake medical exemptions, and bribery.

On August 25, Svyrydenko confirmed to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that her brother, Vitaliy Svyrydenko, 37, is living abroad, a potentially damaging revelation as the country's army struggles to find new military recruits amid Russia's ongoing invasion.

When pressed on the matter, Svyrydenko said, "He did not leave during the full-scale war."

Although Svyrydenko's comments do not suggest any legal violations, the case feeds into ongoing debates in Ukraine about how fairly travel restrictions are being enforced and demands for political transparency.

Russia's Battlefield Gains

With reporting by Reuters