President Trump is sending a loud, unmistakable message to Vladimir Putin: cut a peace deal in Ukraine or face devastating economic consequences.

Speaking from the Oval Office Monday night, Trump warned that if Russia doesn’t stop dragging its feet in peace negotiations, his administration is ready to slap “secondary tariffs” on all Russian oil exports. These aren’t just sanctions — they’re aimed at third-party countries buying Russian oil, with the goal of choking off the Kremlin’s war funding through global pressure.

“I want to make sure that he follows through and I think he will,” Trump said. “I don’t want to go secondary tariffs on his oil,” he added, but emphasized, “He knows I don’t play games.”

Trump made it clear the push for peace isn’t just geopolitical strategy — it’s about saving lives. “It’s 2,500 human beings a week,” he said, referring to the death toll on both sides of the Ukraine war.

This marks a shift in tone from earlier this year, when Trump offered concessions to get Moscow to the table. But patience appears to have run out. Over the weekend, he told NBC he was “very angry, pissed off” after reports that Russia was backtracking on previous commitments. Later, aboard Air Force One, he called Putin’s behavior “disappointing.”

The secondary tariffs model is one Trump says has already worked with Venezuela — and he expects it to work again. The message: if Russia continues stalling, the U.S. will hit its economy hard.

Trump is also growing impatient with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. Tensions flared after Zelensky attempted to renegotiate a rare earth minerals deal in February. Trump fired back, saying Zelensky’s claim that NATO membership was part of the original arrangement is nonsense. “He was never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that,” Trump said.

The rare earths deal was a critical part of the Trump administration’s broader resource strategy, aimed at securing key materials for U.S. defense and technology supply chains. For Zelensky to now try and walk it back, Trump warned, “he’s got some problems.”

While Democrats continue to obsess over old narratives about Trump and Putin, this latest confrontation shows exactly who’s in charge. Trump’s blunt, transactional style may rub globalists the wrong way, but it sends a message dictators understand: don’t test American resolve.

Putin’s next move will reveal whether he takes that warning seriously — or if he’s willing to gamble with Russia’s economy and the lives of his own people.