Russian President Vladimir Putin smiled and waved enthusiastically to his Chinese counterpart during virtual talks on Tuesday.

His inauguration speech was loudest in its silence on Ukraine. But hours later, US President Donald Trump laid bare – in a trademark casual, rambling fashion – his position over the war in Ukraine. And it was tougher on the Kremlin than you might expect.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed to take his country’s ties with Russia to a new level this year in a video conference with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, hours after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia praised President Trump’s second inauguration, but the American leader did not return the compliment.

In a bold move to pressure Russia into negotiations with Kyiv, U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a series of threats aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of imposing sanctions on Russian exports if a deal is not reached soon.

Donald Trump has begun his second presidency in office and he's already shared his thoughts on Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin made positive remarks about Donald Trump’s election victory after his inauguration, saying he had “courage” and clinched a “convincing victory.” President Trump failed to reciprocate those remarks,

Trump has the levers to force Putin to end the Russia-Ukraine war promptly if he dispenses with the Biden Administration’s tepid, inconsistent economic pressure.

President Trump is turning up the heat on Russian President Vladimir Putin in his first days in power, seeking to pressure Russia’s leader to come to the negotiating table for a deal to end the

Donald Trump warns Vladimir Putin to end Ukraine war or face ‘high level of tariff’: ‘Doing him a big favour’

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin should make a deal “soon,” or else he would “have no other choice” but to impose additional taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russian imports to the US,