On Monday, Trump said that Russia's failure to reach a negotiated settlement with Ukraine within 50 days would lead to his administration imposing a 100% tariff rate on Russian imports as well as what he called "secondary tariffs" on countries that have continued to do business with Moscow.

Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine within his first 24 hours in office. His patience with Russia's Putin now appears to be wearing thin.

Mikhail Yevgenyevich Gudkov, deputy commander of the Russian Navy, was killed on Wednesday, in what the Defence Ministry described as "combat work" in the Kursk Region near Ukraine. Gudkov's death marks one of the highest-profile losses for Moscow since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.