Trump announces higher tariffs on India over Russian oil, his envoy goes to Moscow

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would “significantly raise” tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, while his special envoy Steve Witkoff is preparing to travel to Moscow this week ahead of a deadline for the Kremlin to take action to end the war in Ukraine.

In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump said India was not only buying “huge amounts” of Russian oil, but also reselling it for “huge profits.”

“They don’t care how many people are being killed by the Russian war machine in Ukraine,” Trump said.

“Therefore, I will significantly increase the tariffs that India pays to the United States,” he added, without specifying a timeframe or the amount of the new tariffs.

Last week, Trump said India faces 25% tariffs on goods exported to the United States, adding that the world’s fifth-largest economy would also face penalties, without giving details.

Trump, who has increasingly expressed dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin, gave Russia 10 days last week to move toward peace or face sanctions and secondary tariffs that would likely target China and India, the two largest buyers of Russian oil.

Trump said Vitkoff would travel to Moscow after his current visit to Israel, although he did not specify a concrete travel plan.

The Kremlin did not confirm the visit on Monday, but said Putin could meet with Vitkoff this week.

“We are always happy to see Mr. Vitkoff in Moscow… We consider such contacts important, significant, and useful,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

A day earlier, Trump warned that “there will be sanctions, but they seem to be getting around them pretty well.”

“They are clever heroes and they are avoiding them quite well, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

Kiev and Moscow are trading attacks ahead of Trump’s deadline.

Three people were killed in the latest attack in the southeastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, Governor Ivan Fedorov said late Sunday night. Fedorov wrote on Telegram that Stepnogorsk, a town a few kilometers from the front line, had been attacked, adding that two men, aged 40 and 50, and a 58-year-old woman had been killed. He added that private homes had also been destroyed.

Russia reportedly fired at least one Kinjal hypersonic missile overnight, and the Ukrainian military said the target was likely an airbase in western Ukraine.

They added that the attack had been repelled, although the Russian Defense Ministry said that “the goal of the attack had been achieved.”

Extension of the deadline

Trump pressured Putin to agree to a ceasefire and end the war, which has been going on for four years.

On July 14, the US president said Putin had 50 days to end the war or face severe tariffs on Russian oil and other exports, but later extended the deadline to August 8.

This coincided with civilian casualties in Ukraine, including an attack on Kyiv on July 31 with more than 300 drones, in which at least 31 people were killed. Ukrainian forces have also stepped up attacks on Russian infrastructure.

Russian authorities reported that the drone attack on an oil refinery in Sochi was one of several attacks carried out by Ukraine over the weekend, targeting energy and military facilities in the southern Russian cities of Ryazan, Penza, and Voronezh.

US deploys nuclear submarines

Amid escalating attacks and the approaching deadline, Trump said on August 1 that he had deployed submarines capable of carrying nuclear weapons to “appropriate regions.”

Trump said he decided to move nuclear submarines “closer to Russia” because of “very provocative statements” by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The US president did not specify whether these were nuclear submarines or submarines carrying nuclear weapons.

When asked by reporters about the submarines, Trump said that “the former Russian president made a threat and we will protect our people.”

Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, responded to Trump’s announcement that he had shortened the deadline for the Kremlin to accept a ceasefire by accusing Washington of playing “the game of ultimatums” and saying that “every new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.”

Putin has not publicly responded to Trump’s latest deadline. He has occasionally claimed to be interested in peace, but only on terms that are completely unacceptable to Kiev.

The Kremlin on Monday dismissed concerns about escalating nuclear rhetoric, saying the movement of US submarines was more of an emotional reaction than a change in military dynamics.

“It is clear that US submarines are always on alert in any case,” Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Trump recently expressed dissatisfaction with Putin after initially appearing more willing to reach an agreement with Moscow following his return to office in January. The US president said he believes Putin is not negotiating in good faith, and last week described Russia’s continued attacks on civilian areas as “disgusting.”

https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/trump-witkoff-rusija-ukrajina/