 "Donald Trump’s new '10 or 12 days' deadline to end Ukraine war. Is Russia bothered?")
US President Donald Trump is taking a harder line on Russia these days.
Trump has for years flattered Russia’s Vladimir Putin, calling him ‘extremely smart’ and a great leader.
His remarks date back to before he even became president or ran for office.
However, Trump earlier in July suddenly slammed Putin, saying he throws “a lot of bullshit at us.”
Now, Trump has set a new deadline for Russia to come to peace terms with Ukraine.
But what happened? Why did Trump set this new deadline? What does it mean for Russia?
What happened?
Trump made the announcement at a press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Trump said he was giving Putin “10 or 12 days" before he imposes secondary tariffs on Russia.
“Every time I think it’s going to end, he kills people,” Trump said. “I’m not so interested in talking anymore….we’ll see what happens.”
Trump said he doesn’t see “any progress being made.”
“I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump added. “Russia and Ukraine — I would have said five times we had a deal.”
“I spoke to President Putin a lot. Got along with him very well,” he said. “Then President Putin launches rockets into a city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people — in a nursing home, or wherever — and there are bodies lying all over the streets.”
Trump even hinted he may announce sanctions to wait, saying there was “no reason to wait”.
Trump said he would formally announce the new deadline “tonight or tomorrow”.
“But there’s no reason to wait. If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait?” Trump asked.
Trump has slowly been taking a different tack on Putin these past few months.
In April, Trump took to Truth Social to claim that he is “not happy” with Putin.
“Things will happen” if the attacks continue, he added. “Vladimir, stop!”
Trump in July rebuked Putin regarding the war with Ukraine a week after United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Trump then announced that he would send weapons to Ukraine via Nato and gave Russia a 50-day deadline to reach a peace deal with Ukraine.
He said Russia refused to do so, he would impose tariffs of 100 per cent on Moscow.
This gives Russia till 9 August to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine rather than September.
What does this mean for Russia?
It means Trump’s frustration with Russia is growing.
Trump, remember, had come to power vowing to end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours.
However, the threat of sanctions alone is unlikely to deter the Kremlin.
Russia, after all, has already faced the brunt of sanctions from the West after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia remains hell-bent on conquering Ukraine and taking over vast amounts of its territory.
Trump threatening Russia’s exports is seen as laughable inside the Kremlin.
Russia’s trade with the US is valued at just a few billion dollars.
“Fifty days! It used to be 24 hours; it used to be 100 days. We’ve been through all of this,” Lavrov said earlier this month.
“Russia’s actual response to Trump’s ultimatum will be the same as it has been for the last 500 years to all ultimatums,” Sergey Markov, a prominent Russian political analyst, wrote on Telegram.
“Go away! Go to hell,” he added.
However, it also remains to be seen if Trump will actually follow through with the deadline.
Trump is famous for announcing a deadline of ‘two weeks ’ – particularly on tariffs and them pushing them back when no deal is made.
Trump in April, speaking of military assistance to Ukraine, added, “You can ask that question in two weeks, and we’ll see, but I think we’re getting very close.”
At the end of April, asked if he trusts Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump says: “We’ll let you know in about two weeks.”
In May, asked if Putin is “tapping him along,” Trump responded, “I’ll let you know in a week. I’ll let you know in a few days.”
Again in May, Trump said he would decide in two weeks if Ukraine is serious about ending the war: “I’d rather tell you in about two weeks from now because I can’t say yes or no.”
“I’ll let you know in about two weeks, within two weeks,” Trump said at the end of May about Russia ending the war
“We’re going to find out whether or not [Putin is] tapping us along or not. And if he is, we’ll respond a little bit differently.”
Earlier in July, Trump said he would impose ‘severe tariffs’ without a deal in 50 days.
“Tariffs at about 100%, you’d call them secondary tariffs. You know what that means.”
So often has Trump pulled this move, that some came up with the acronym Trump always chickens out (Taco) to describe it, which has invariably infuriated the US president.
Ironically, the fallout of Trump’s potentially targeting Russia’s oil exports would hurt China and India – the two biggest buyers of crude oil from Moscow.
India in particular has saved billions of dollars by buying cheap crude oil from Russia over the past year.
Russia in 2024 comprised around a third of India’s total crude imports and nearly a fifth of China’s oil imports.
With inputs from agencies
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