Russian President Vladimir Putin smiled and waved enthusiastically to his Chinese counterpart during virtual talks on Tuesday.

His inauguration speech was loudest in its silence on Ukraine. But hours later, US President Donald Trump laid bare – in a trademark casual, rambling fashion – his position over the war in Ukraine. And it was tougher on the Kremlin than you might expect.

Ukraine's first vice prime minister has signaled that Kyiv would be open to engaging in peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine expects the Trump administration to be involved in possible peace talks with Russia, Yulia Svyrydenko told Polish radio station RMF FM in Davos in an interview published on Wednesday.

In a post to Truth Social, President Trump threatened to hit Russia with tariffs if Vladimir Putin refuses to make a deal on the Ukraine war.

US President Donald Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin, ‘Make peace or I’ll smash your economy’, claims Sky News host Andrew Bolt.

President Trump in a social-media post urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a deal, in his most forceful and public effort to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump has the levers to force Putin to end the Russia-Ukraine war promptly if he dispenses with the Biden Administration’s tepid, inconsistent economic pressure.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned on Thursday that a Russian victory over Ukraine would undermine the dissuasive force of the world’s biggest military alliance and that its credibility could cost trillions to restore.

Russia has given its first response to Donald Trump’s ultimatum calling on Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks or see his Ukraine invasion end “the hard way”.Writing on his Truth Social platform,

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned that a Russian victory over Ukraine would undermine the dissuasive force of the world’s biggest military alliance and could cost trillions of dollars to restore the organization's credibility.