Donald Trump told Vladimir Putin to “stop this ridiculous war” or face a fresh round of tariffs and sanctions.

The new US president said he was “doing a favour” for Putin by offering him the chance to negotiate over peace, but would punish Russia if it did not come to the table.

Mr Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday, has repeatedly promised to bring a swift end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has publicly backed his American counterpart to broker a ceasefire, but Putin has yet to signal his willingness to entertain peace talks.

However, the Ukrainian president said for the first time on Wednesday that he would demand US troops join a Western peacekeeping force as part of any settlement, in a blow to Mr Trump’s attempts to end the war.

Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social website: “I’m going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOUR.

“Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.

“We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better,” Mr Trump added in a pointed message to Putin.