US President Donald Trump said he will be "substantially raising" tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil as his special envoy Steve Witkoff prepares to travel to Moscow this week ahead of a deadline for the Kremlin to take steps to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social on August 4 that India is not only buying "massive amounts" of Russian oil, it is then selling it onward "for big profits."
"They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine," Trump said.
"Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA," he added without elaborating on the timing or amount of the new tariffs.
Last week Trump said India faced a 25 percent tariff on goods exported to the United States and added that the world's fifth-largest economy would also face an unspecified penalty. He gave no further details.
Trump, who has increasingly voiced frustration with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, last week gave Russia 10 days to move toward a peace or face sanctions and secondary tariffs that would likely target China and India, the two largest buyers of Russian oil.
With that deadline looming on August 8, Trump has said Witkoff will fly to Moscow following his current trip to Israel, though he did not provide a specific itinerary.
The Kremlin on August 4 did not confirm the visit, but did say President Vladimir Putin may meet with Witkoff this week.
"We are always happy to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow.... We consider such contact important, substantial and helpful," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
A day earlier Trump warned "there'll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions."
"They're wily characters and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we'll see what happens."
Kyiv and Moscow have been trading strikes ahead of the deadline set by Trump.
In the most recent attack, three people were killed in Ukraine's southeastern region of Zaporizhzhya, Governor Ivan Fedorov said late on August 3.
Stepnohirsk, a town only a few kilometers from the front line, was attacked, Fedorov wrote on Telegram, adding that two men, ages 40 and 50, and a woman, 58, were killed. Private homes were also destroyed, he said.
Russia also reportedly launched at least one Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missile overnight, with Ukraine's military saying an air base in western Ukraine was likely the intended target.
It added that the attack had been repelled, though Russian Defense Ministry said the "objective of the strike has been achieved."
Debris from attacks across the Odesa region and the outskirts of Kyiv also sparked several fires, which local officials were quickly extinguished.
Deadline Moved Up
Trump has been pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a cease-fire and an end to the war, now in its fourth year.
Trump announced on July 14 that Putin had 50 days to end the war or Russia would face severe tariffs targeting its oil and other exports, but he later moved the deadline up to August 8.
This corresponded with a deadly week for civilians in Ukraine, including a July 31 attack on Kyiv involving more than 300 drones that killed at least 31 people. Ukrainian forces also increased strikes on Russian infrastructure.
Russian authorities said the drone attack on the Sochi oil refinery was one of several launched by Ukraine over the weekend targeting energy and military installations in the southern Russian cities of Ryazan, Penza, and Voronezh.
US Deploys Nuclear Submarines
The escalating attacks and the approaching deadline for a deal come as Trump said on August 1 that he had deployed nuclear-capable submarines to the "appropriate regions." Trump said he had decided to reposition the nuclear submarines "closer to Russia" because of "highly provocative statements" by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The US president did not specify whether these were nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines.
Asked later by reporters why he ordered the submarine movement, Trump said that "a threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we're going to protect our people."
Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, accused Washington of playing a "game of ultimatums" in response to Trump's announcement that he shortened the deadline for the Kremlin to accept a cease-fire, writing that "each new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war."
Putin has not publicly responded to Trump's latest deadline. He has periodically claimed to be interested in peace but only on terms wholly unacceptable to Kyiv.
The Kremlin on August 4 dismissed concerns over an escalation in nuclear rhetoric, saying the US movement of submarines was more an emotional reaction than a shift in military dynamics.
"It's clear that US submarines are always on alert in any case," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
Trump has recently voiced frustration with Putin after initially appearing more conciliatory toward striking a deal with Moscow following his return to office in January.
The US president has since said that he believes Putin is not negotiating in good faith and last week described Russia's continued attacks on civilian areas as "disgusting." [RFE/RL/VS]
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