Russia’s stock market fell by over 2% on Monday, May 27, after US President Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin “crazy” and voiced the possibility of new sanctions against Russia, the Moscow Times reported.
In a post on his Truth Social media platform on Sunday, Trump wrote:“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!”
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The comments followed the record wave of missile and drone strikes by Russia on Ukraine over three nights between May 25-26 that killed at least 13 people.
Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent reported on Sunday that Trump said he was “not happy” with Putin’s actions in Ukraine and was “absolutely” considering further sanctions.
By 4:30 p.m. Kyiv time, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) index had dropped to 2,711 points, down from its opening level of 2,735. The decline hit several major Russian companies.
Sovcomflot, the country’s largest shipping firm, lost more than 5%. Shares in energy and metals conglomerate En+ Group, state-owned Gazprom, and tech company VK Group each dropped by over 4%.
The investment firm Finam told the Moscow Times that Trump’s remarks were the main reason for the selloff.
Finam also pointed to broader concerns among investors. At least two dozen publicly traded Russian companies have advised they would not be paying dividends on 2024 results this spring, citing economic uncertainty.
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Earlier this month, Trump floated the idea of sanctioning Russia if the Kremlin does not halt its aggression. However, despite reports of a phone call between Trump and Putin last Monday, the White House did not mention sanctions in its official readout, Kyiv Post previously wrote.
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