Russia's
Security Council's Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev attends a meeting of
the Council for Science and Education at the Joint Institute for
Nuclear Research in the Moscow region's city of Dubna, Russia June 13,
2024. Sputnik/Alexei Maishev/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS
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Russia says Trump's new weapons pledge a signal for Ukraine to abandon peace efforts
July 17, 2025
MOSCOW, July 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's
decision to ramp up arms shipments to Ukraine is a signal to Kyiv to
abandon peace efforts, Russia said on Thursday, vowing it would not
accept the "blackmail" of Washington's new sanctions ultimatum.
Trump announced
a toughened stance on Russia's war in Ukraine on Monday, setting a
50-day deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face sanctions. The
U.S. also promised more missiles and other weaponry for Kyiv.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, condemned the move.
"It
is obvious that the Kyiv regime consistently perceives such decisions
by the collective West as a signal to continue the slaughter and abandon
the peace process," Zakharova told a news briefing in Moscow.
Russia's
all-out war against Ukraine in February, 2022, has led to Europe's
bloodiest conflict since World War Two, with the United States
estimating that 1.2 million people have been injured or killed.
Moscow
says it was forced to launch the war to protect itself from an
expanding NATO. Ukraine and most Western governments call Russia's war a
colonial-style land grab.
Russian
forces now control around one fifth of Ukrainian territory and are
slowly but steadily advancing across a vast frontline, sustaining what
the U.S. believes are heavy losses along the way.
Trump,
who has made ending the conflict a priority of his administration, is
threatening "100% tariffs on Russia" and secondary sanctions on
countries that buy Russian oil if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire
deal by his 50-day deadline.
"An
unprecedented number of sanctions and restrictions have been imposed on
our country and our international partners. There are so many of them
that we view the threat of new sanctions as mundane," Zakharova said.
"The
language of ultimatums, blackmail, and threats is unacceptable to us.
We will take all necessary steps to ensure the security and protect the
interests of our country."
'PROXY WAR'
Both
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Trump have repeatedly cautioned
over the escalatory risks of the conflict, which they cast as a proxy
war between the world's two biggest nuclear powers.
U.S. efforts to broker peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, however, have faced repeated setbacks.
Russia
says it is ready to hold further talks, but has made it clear it wants
all of the territory of four Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own
- terms which Ukraine say are unacceptable and would amount to a
capitulation.
Moscow
is also keen to revive its battered bilateral relationship with the
United States if possible, though Trump's latest moves on Ukraine have
soured the atmosphere.
Trump
said on Monday that he was "very unhappy" and "disappointed" with Putin
and cast his decision to send more arms to Ukraine as intended to jolt
Russia towards peace.
Reuters reported on Tuesday
that Putin intends to keep fighting in Ukraine until the West engages
on his terms for peace, unfazed by threats of tougher sanctions, and
that his territorial demands may widen as Russian forces advance.
Earlier
on Thursday, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia
had no plans to attack NATO or Europe. But he said it should respond
and, if necessary, launch preemptive strikes if it believed the West was
escalating what he cast as its full-scale war against Russia.
"We need to act accordingly. To respond in full. And if necessary, launch preemptive strikes," Medvedev was quoted as saying.
The
remarks by Medvedev, reported in full by the TASS state news agency,
indicate that Moscow sees the confrontation with the West over Ukraine
escalating after Trump's latest decisions.
"What
is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale
war (launches of Western missiles, satellite intelligence, etc.),
sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarisation of Europe,"
Medvedev said, according to TASS.
Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn in Moscow; Editing by Joe Bavier