Russia Considers Trump's New Weapons A Ukrainian Signal To Leave Peace Efforts

JAKARTA - Russia considers US President Donald Trump's decision to increase arms supplies to Ukraine a signal for Kyiv to abandon peace efforts.

Trump announced a firm stance on Russia's war in Ukraine on Monday, setting a deadline of 50 days for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face sanctions. The US also promised more missiles and other weapons for Kyiv.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, condemned the move.

"It is clear that the Kyiv regime consistently considers the Western collective decision a signal to continue the massacre and abandon the peace process," Zakharova told a news conference in Moscow.

Russia's all-out war against Ukraine in February 2022 has sparked the bloodiest conflict in Europe since the Second World War, with the United States estimating 1.2 million people have been injured or killed.

Moscow said it was forced to wage a war to protect itself from NATO expansion. Ukraine and most Western governments called Russia's war a colonial-style seizure of land.

Russian troops now control about a fifth of Ukraine's territory and are slowly but surely moving forward across a broad front line, suffering heavy losses that the US believes along the way.

Trump has threatened to impose a "100% pariff on Russia" and secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian oil if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire agreement within 50 days.

"Unprecedented sanctions and restrictions have been imposed on our country and our international partners. There are so many sanctions and restrictions that we consider the threat of new sanctions as normal," Zakharova said.

"We cannot accept the extreme, extortion and threats. We will take all necessary steps to ensure security and protect the interests of our country," he continued.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump have repeatedly warned about the risk of conflict escalation, which they describe as a proxy war between the world's two largest nuclear powers.

However, US efforts to mediate peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow have repeatedly faced obstacles.

Russia said it was ready to hold further negotiations, but insisted it wanted the entire territory of the four Ukrainian territories it claims to belong to.

The requirement was confirmed by Ukraine to be unacceptable and would be considered a capitulation.

Moscow also wants to restore its strained bilateral relations with the United States if possible, although Trump's latest move on Ukraine has exacerbated the situation.

Trump said on Monday he was "very unhappy" and "disappointed" against Putin and declared his decision to send more weapons to Ukraine aimed at pushing Russia towards peace.