In Kyiv and Moscow, officials commented on U.S. President Donald Trump's call to immediately end the war and stop the bloodshed, as reported by Tengrinews.kz, citing DW and RBC.
Specifically, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga stated on Thursday, January 23, that Kyiv welcomes Trump's "decisive statement" regarding the need to end the war.
"We truly welcome such decisive statements from President Trump. And we believe that he will be a victor. We believe that we have an additional chance to gain new momentum in diplomatic efforts to end this war and achieve a long-term, just, and comprehensive peace," Sibiga said.
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry pointed out the necessity of increasing pressure on Russia and compelling it to negotiate.
"We need U.S. leadership. We need more U.S. involvement," he indicated.
At the same time, the Ukrainian minister emphasized the need to raise the cost for Russia for further aggression, particularly through a stringent sanctions policy, as well as the necessity to strengthen Ukraine. According to Sibiga, Ukraine needs a "deterrence package to stabilize the situation primarily on the battlefield and enhance our military defensive capabilities."
In turn, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow sees nothing new in the threats of sanctions and tariff increases from Trump, noting that he frequently resorted to such measures during his first term.
"We do not observe any particularly new elements here. You know that Trump, in his first term, was the U.S. president who most often resorted to sanctioning methods; he likes these methods, at least he did during his first presidency. We are, of course, closely monitoring all rhetoric and statements. We are carefully noting all the nuances," said the Kremlin representative.
According to Peskov, Russia remains ready for "equal and mutually respectful dialogue," which "took place between the two presidents" during Trump's first term.
"We are waiting for signals, which have not yet been received," Peskov concluded.
The day before, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that if Russia and Ukraine do not reach a peace agreement "in the near future," he will have "no choice but to impose high taxes, tariffs, and sanctions" on all goods that Russia sells to the U.S. and other countries.
"I am going to do President Putin and Russia, whose economy is collapsing, a big favor. End the war now and stop this ridiculous conflict! It will only get worse from here," the U.S. president wrote on his TruthSocial page.
Trump took office as President of the United States on January 20 after winning the election in November. During the campaign, he repeatedly expressed his intention to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, the hostilities could come to an end within six months.