US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Washington and Moscow have made a "lot of progress" towards his goal of ending the Ukraine War and speculated America's hefty tariffs on India may have something to do with it.

Tariffs on Indian exports to the United States will surge to 50 percent by late August, as part of an effort by President Trump to pressure Russia into resolving its war in Ukraine.

Trump last week said that goods from India would be subject to a tariff of 25%, in addition to a “penalty” over the country’s purchase of military equipment and energy from Russia. It was not clear at the time what such a penalty might look like.