Russia has given its first response to Donald Trump’s ultimatum calling on Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks or see his Ukraine invasion end “the hard way”.Writing on his Truth Social platform days after re-entering the White House,

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said early on Friday that air defence units had intercepted three separate attacks by Ukrainian drones headed for Russia's capital.

The Kremlin said on Thursday it saw nothing particularly new in a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to hit Russia with new sanctions and tariffs if it did not agree to end the war in Ukraine.

Russia claims it is withstanding the impact of sanctions. Sweden's finance minister said satellite images show a different story.

Russia is "very closely monitoring all the rhetoric" from Washington, a Kremlin spokesperson said, after President Donald Trump threatened to impose new sanctions unless Russia ends its war against Ukraine. "We don't see any new elements here," Dimitry Peskov, the spokesperson, said on Thursday.

Donald Trump pledged to end the conflict in Ukraine, but the war has proved harder to solve than he once thought. Now, he says he'll sanction Russia.

Ukrainian diplomacy on Wednesday, threatening Moscow with sanctions and calling on President Vladimir Putin to make a deal for the sake of his economy.

Ukrainian forces described a different kind of enemy, fighting with unfamiliar tactics and little option to retreat.

President Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose tariffs and sanctions on Russia if there is no deal to stop the fighting in Ukraine “soon.” “I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I

President Donald Trump is threatening to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the war in Ukraine.

North Korea troops have been helping Russian forces as they seek to push Ukrainian soldiers out of Russia’s Kursk region.

Russia has had battlefield momentum but its recent territorial gains have been at the expense of high personnel losses.