Zelensky urges Trump to pressure Russia for peace as US President expresses anger towards Putin and warns of economic sanctions if Kremlin continues to delay peace agreement to end the war

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has asked US president Donald Trump to compel Russia to seek peace, following Trump’s expression of deep frustration with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Expressing his exasperation, Trump revealed his strong displeasure towards Putin for challenging the credibility and legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This confrontation arose when Zelensky emphasized the necessity for new leadership in the war-torn nation.

Trump’s support for Ukraine and its president appears to be unwavering now, despite his prior criticisms of Zelensky and his complaints about overseeing the conflict and supporting Kyiv.

Speaking with NBC host Kristen Welker, Trump warned Russia it could face a new round of harsh economic sanctions for the flub in peace negotiations.

He said this would include a tariff of between 25 and 50 percent on oil from Russia, as well as a warning to other countries that if they do buy oil from Russia, ‘you can’t do business in the United States.’

In the wake of the public tirade, Zelensky took to X to say his nation needs to ‘engage more with America, find ways to force Russia into peace, and work on security guarantees, which must become our next step after the ceasefire.’ 

He said in his post: ‘Right now, Russia continues looking for excuses to drag this war out even further. Putin is playing the same game he has since 2014.

‘This is dangerous for everyone — and there should be an appropriate response from the United States, Europe, and all our global partners who seek peace.’

Sir Keir Starmer tonight spoke with Trump to update him on the latest round of talks of the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ in Paris where European leaders ‘agreed on the need to keep up the collective pressure on Putin’.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the PM and the U.S. President agreed to stay in touch in the coming days. 

Trump on Wednesday will unveil new rounds of tariffs that he says are part of a so-called ‘Liberation Day’ with an aim for the U.S. to stop relying on other countries and bring back business to the home land.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is leading peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the ongoing Eastern European war – and while it appeared to be heading in the direction for a deal, that might have fallen apart this week.

‘If we’re in the midst of a negotiation, you could say that I was very angry, p***** off, when Putin said yesterday that – you know, when Putin started getting into Zelenskyy’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right location, you understand?’ Trump told the Meet the Press host.

‘What he wanted – and I mean, he thought, you know, started talking about new leadership,’ he added. 

‘But new leadership means you’re not gonna have a deal for a long time, right?’

Putin, 72, demanded during a visit to the Russian city of Murmansk on Friday that Zelensky, 47, resign in order to accelerate a peace deal between the two nations.

He said Russia has the ‘strategic initiative’ across the front lines of the war. 

Putin also claimed his country’s troops had moved from the stage of ‘grinding [Ukraine] down’ and vowed to now ‘finish them off ‘ in a fresh threat.

While speaking at the visit to launch a nuclear-powered submarine, Putin said the United Nations should take control in Kyiv in order to install ‘competent’ leadership who would be willing to sign a peace deal.

The Russian leader claimed Zelensky lacks the legitimacy to sign any agreement at this stage due to the Ukrainian leader remaining in power for longer than he was elected for.

Ukrainian law does not allow for elections while the country is under martial law.

Trump says that Putin is aware he is ‘angry’ but said their relationship remains ‘good.’ 

The president told NBC News that he will speak with the Russian leader again this week.

The breakdown in peace negotiations comes as it appeared they were leading towards a deal earlier this month.

‘I was p***** off about it,’ Trump told Welker of Putin’s latest comments.

The president vowed: ‘If a deal isn’t made, and if I think it was Russia’s fault, I’m going to put secondary sanctions on Russia.’

‘Anybody buying oil from Russia will not be able to sell their product, any product, not just oil, into the United States,’ he said of the potential economic punishment for Moscow.

Zelesnky sat down with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in a tense Oval Office meeting last month.

An exchange caught on-camera by the press in the room issuing questions for the world leaders showed Trump and Vance demanding that Zelensky thank the U.S. for the billions in military aid and the leadership in peace talks with Russia.

Trump has repeatedly touted his ability to lead difficult negotiations with adversaries and has said his good relationship with Putin is an asset to the U.S. 

In the midst of negotiations, meanwhile, Moscow has maintained its assault on Ukraine by continuing to drop bombs on the wartorn eastern European nation.

Russian troops captured two villages in eastern and southern Ukraine on Saturday, March 29 as the forces continue to push their way into Ukrainian territory despite Trump’s ceasefire efforts.

Putin is now resettling hundreds of thousands of his citizens in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia in a move being likened to ‘ethnic cleansing’ as he seeks to ensure retaining of the captured land.

Russia’s defense ministry revealed that Moscow captured the village of Shchebraki in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Panteleimonivka in the eastern Donetsk region.

Those Russians who moved to the area allegedly were offered larger salaries with the promise of being able to fill the homes abandoned by fleeing Ukrainians.