Russia’s Medvedev scoffs at Trump’s Ukraine ultimatum, but Kremlin wants to analyse

Russia’s ex-president dismissed Trump’s 100 per cent tariff threat as a ‘theatrical ultimatum’, while the Kremlin said it was ‘very serious’, needing Putin’s analysis

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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Trump’s ultimatum as “theatrical” and that “Russia didn’t care” about the threat of 100 per cent tariffs if no Ukraine peace deal is reached within 50 days. Photo: Kremlin/AP

Published: 4:58pm, 15 Jul 2025Updated: 3:15pm, 16 Jul 2025

Russia does not care about US President Donald Trump’s “theatrical ultimatum” about slapping sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Moscow agrees to a peace deal in Ukraine, a senior security official said on Tuesday.

Trump, sitting beside Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, on Monday, announced new weapons for Ukraine and threatened secondary tariffs of 100 per cent on the buyers of Russian exports, of which crude makes up a major chunk.

The US president also expressed frustration with Vladimir Putin, saying he did not want to call the Russian leader “an assassin, but he’s a tough guy”.

“Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in a post in English on social media. “The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care.”

However, the Kremlin itself took a more measured tone. “The US president’s statements are very serious. Some of them are addressed personally to President Putin,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“We certainly need time to analyse what was said in Washington. And if and when President Putin deems it necessary, he will definitely comment.”

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