Donald Trump warns Vladimir Putin he is ‘playing with fire’

Good morning and welcome to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:

• Trump’s growing frustration with Putin

• McKinsey’s shrinking headcount

• The brewing crisis in US-South Korea relations

US President Donald Trump has warned Vladimir Putin he is “playing with fire” after Russia launched some of its biggest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine since its full-scale invasion began in early 2022.

What Trump said: “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realise is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “He’s playing with fire!” The US president’s latest posts reveal the growing frustration in his administration with Putin over the war. The Russian leader has offered no concessions and shown no interest in the ceasefire demanded by Ukraine and its western allies.

Growing support for sanctions: Tammy Bruce, state department spokesperson, hinted Trump might be close to taking action against Russia. “As we’ve seen today with Putin . . . there is a point that [Trump] looks at things differently, and how that manifests, just like with everything else in this administration, it will happen quickly.”

Trump said on Sunday he would “absolutely” consider new sanctions on Moscow. Meanwhile, a sanctions bill co-authored by Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is among the president’s most prominent legislative allies, continues to gather support in the upper chamber. Read the full story.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Australia publishes April CPI inflation figures and Taiwan releases revised first-quarter GDP.

• New Zealand: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announces its monetary policy decision.

• China-Pacific ties: China hosts foreign ministers from 11 Pacific island nations for a meeting in the city of Xiamen.

Join Financial Times experts today to get clear-sighted analysis of the most consequential geopolitical rivalry of our time: the US-China showdown. Register for the webinar now and put questions to our panel.

Five more top stories

1. McKinsey has cut more than 10 per cent of its staff in the past 18 months, reversing a big expansion plan that peaked during the coronavirus pandemic. The job cuts, which are among the largest in McKinsey’s nearly 100-year history, reflect the sharp slowdown in revenue growth across the consulting market.

2. European defence companies say Japan has accelerated its opening to non-American suppliers of military equipment since the election of Trump. One company representative at Japan’s largest-ever defence sector trade show this month said the sentiment among Japanese officials was increasingly “we like something as long as it’s not American”.

• Japanese bonds: Longer-dated bonds rallied yesterday after the government took the rare step of canvassing primary dealers for their views on issuance, raising speculation it may scale back supply.

• Japanese business: Seven & i shareholders have backed its new chief executive as the 7-Eleven store owner faces a record-breaking $50bn takeover offer.

3. Chinese billionaire Li Zhenguo has stepped back from the day-to-day management of Longi, the solar group he founded 25 years ago, highlighting turmoil in the industry as falling profits and factory overcapacity undermine years of rapid growth. Longi said Li would focus on research and development and other technology efforts.

4. Syria and Israel have held several rounds of direct talks in recent weeks aiming to quell spiralling tensions between the neighbouring countries, said three people briefed on the situation. The talks were the first known direct contact between the new leadership in Damascus and their Israeli counterparts amid a spate of Israeli air strikes on Syrian soil.

• Gaza: Waves of desperate Palestinians overwhelmed a humanitarian distribution hub yesterday, as a controversial new aid system run by a previously unknown US-backed group began operations in the shattered enclave.

5. Toyota has promised to install a homegrown operating system in its best-selling RAV4 sport utility vehicle by next March, in a bid by the world’s largest carmaker to catch up with Tesla and Chinese rivals’ software lead.

The Big Read

A series of possible crises is brewing in US-South Korea relations. Despite an alliance that goes back decades, the two countries are threatening to diverge on sensitive questions of trade, regional security and the growing North Korean nuclear threat. While many of these fears reflect long-standing tensions, they have been exacerbated by the return to power of Trump — who has repeatedly declared his admiration for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un — and a prolonged political crisis in Seoul.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Greenland’s minerals: US and European mining companies need to hurry up and invest in Greenland, otherwise it will turn to China, a minister for the Arctic territory has warned.

• Trump’s Harvard crackdown: The US president wants foreigners out of the Ivy League university, putting many of them in limbo.

• ‘Crazy’ data rules: Germany’s reservists’ association warned that strict privacy laws are hindering the country’s efforts to swell the ranks of the armed forces.

Chart of the day

India’s cryptocurrency industry is lobbying for cuts to taxes that have curbed domestic trading, in a bid to take advantage of New Delhi’s softening stance towards digital assets. Once a pariah sector in India, executives at exchanges told the FT that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had become markedly more receptive following Trump’s embrace of digital currencies.

Take a break from the news

Robot dogs are multiplying fast around the world, metamorphosing from amusing playthings to trusted companions deployed in a wide range of terrains from production plants to battlefields. Michael Peel takes a look at the growing use of caninoids as part of the FT’s special report on robotics.