The 50-day deadline that President Donald Trump had previously given Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine is being shortened, he said Monday. A new, much shorter timeline is expected to be announced within the next 24 hours.
President Putin has let me down. During a visit with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, Trump expressed his disappointment. The 50-day deadline will likely be shortened to anything between 10 and 12 days from today.
The initial July 14 deadline would have ended on September 2, when Trump had threatened to inflict harsh economic sanctions on Russia if war with Ukraine did not end.
Now since there has been no improvement and Russia is stepping up its attacks, Trump indicated urgency.
He was obviously frustrated that Putin had not reacted to his call for a truce, saying, “There’s no reason to wait if you already know the answer.” The revised deadline will most likely be announced tonight or tomorrow.
Tariff Threats Loom
Trump has previously threatened to levy tariffs of up to 100% not only on Russia but also perhaps on secondary trading partners that continue to do business with Moscow if Russia fails to fulfill the initial deadline.
At the time, Trump emphasized that economic pressure would rapidly increase and threatened to impose tariffs at roughly 100% if a deal wasn’t reached within 50 days.
Attacks Intensify Despite Warnings
Russian hostility has merely increased in spite of Trump’s ultimatum. According to Bloomberg, Russia unleashed a record-breaking wave of drone attacks on July 9 that damaged residential buildings and infrastructure with 728 drone strikes in a single night. Ukraine had another round of drone and missile attacks just this Monday, with air raid sirens wailing for over six hours around the nation.
Putin Signals Defiance
Putin reportedly warned Trump over the phone in early July, prior to the initial 50-day ultimatum, that Russia would not give up its goals in Ukraine, but he was still open to talks.
Trump maintains that diplomatic options are still available despite his repeated expressions of dissatisfaction in Putin.
In a recent interview with the BBC, he said, “I’m disappointed, but I’m not done,” indicating that pressure would keep increasing unless Putin changed his mind.
Securing the peace in Ukraine has been a primary foreign policy priority for Trump since he took office. Now that the time has been lowered, everyone is waiting to see if Putin will react or if Washington will take rapid action.
