Russia: Trump has «fully taken up the path of war»

After weeks in which Moscow had hoped to secure a second Trump–Putin summit, seen by the Kremlin as a chance to influence Washington, Trump’s sudden cancellation and his decision to sanction two of Russia’s largest oil companies, described as the «heart of Russia’s economy», sparked fury. Russian officials accused him of taking a «path of war» with Moscow.

The harsh reaction from Russia came from Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council and former president of Russia. In a social media post, Medvedev declared that «The USA is our adversary» and, mocking Trump as «their loquacious “peacemaker”», added that the United States «has now fully taken up the path of war with Russia».

Medvedev use of the phrase «their loquacious ‘peacemaker’» was a pointed jab at Trump, mocking his constant self-promotion as a peacemaker and master dealmaker.

After weeks of being pressed on when he would act on his threat to sanction Russia if Putin proved insincere in his peace talks, Trump has finally done so.

He is now calling on Putin to «agree to an immediate ceasefire» as Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities continue.

Trump’s sudden reversal in recent weeks followed months of leniency toward Russia and repeated claims that Ukraine was to blame for the war — a stance that allowed Putin to seize significant territory and gain momentum.

Trump later admitted he had been misled by Putin and expressed disappointment, though despite repeatedly vowing to impose sanctions, he took no action, enabling Russia’s continued advances.

During his meeting last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Trump discussed a potential tunnel between Russia and Alaska, a topic Zelensky was «not happy about», and mentioned a possible second meeting with Putin, while appearing to reject Zelensky’s request for U.S. Tomahawk missiles. But Trump suddenly canceled the planned second meeting with Moscow, visibly frustrated by Russia’s lack of progress in his peace initiative, saying he «didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get.»

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, according to CNN, that «Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort» to end the war in Ukraine.

«We canceled the meeting with President Putin. It just didn’t feel right to me.

It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it, but we’ll do it in the future,» explained Trump to journalists at the White House.

According to CBS News, Zelensky, for his part, expressed relief at the announcement of U.S. sanctions against Russia, saying «We waited for this. God bless, it will work» and calling the move «very important.»

Speaking from Brussels, where he is meeting European leaders to secure further military aid and coordination, the Ukrainian president reiterated that only sanctions could bring Moscow to the negotiating table.