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.

Trump has now imposed a total of 50% tariffs on goods imported from India, and his earlier threat of levying an extra 10% for the country's membership in the Brics grouping, which includes China, Russia and South Africa as founding members, still stands.

President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on India as punishment for importing Russian oil, according to a document posted on the White House website — an escalation of his trade battle with New Delhi and his first use of so-called secondary sanctions on countries the US says are fueling Moscow’s war machine.