28 May 2025

The fraught relationship between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is well known, but Trump’s “very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin also appeared to hit the rocks this week. On Monday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Putin “has gone absolutely CRAZY” and later that he was “playing with fire” by continuing the war in Ukraine.

Trump’s apparent frustration with the Russian president comes as some Republicans in Congress build pressure for new and wide-reaching sanctions on Russia. On Sunday, Trump said he would “absolutely” consider imposing new sanctions.

While short-term congressional action may not be imminent, economic coercion has been a significant feature of Trump’s second term, most notably in sweeping tariff measures against almost every country in the world announced in April.

To dive deep on these issues, the United States Studies Centre hosted Ambassador Kurt Tong for a public event on Tuesday to analyse the future of US economic policy. The Centre will also be holding a Track-1.5 dialogue in August to discuss this new era of economic statecraft and what it could mean for US allies and partners around the world, including Australia.

What this all will mean for Russia in the short term remains to be seen, but Moscow’s immediate response to Trump – suggesting his comments were the result of “emotional overload” – indicates there will be no quick resolution.

Samuel Garrett
Senior Research Associate

Lead image: Russia's President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump at the G20 Summit, 2019 (Photo by Brendan Smialowski for Getty Images)

"Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII."

Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on X | 28 May 2025

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