President Donald Trump may have expected a Russian shudder of fear to greet his threat of “very severe tariffs” on the country if it didn’t agree a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Russia continued its nightly bombardment of Ukrainian cities overnight into Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would send military equipment to Kyiv.

Russia has rejected President Trump's "ultimatum" for Moscow to sign a ceasefire deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days on Tuesday as "unacceptable," calling for continued negotiations and insisting that the invasion ordered by President Vladimir Putin would continue until its goals are achieved.