President Donald Trump recently stated on Monday, July 28, 2025, that he was “disappointed” in President Vladimir V. Putin regarding the war in Ukraine. Trump then claimed that he would give Russia 10 to 12 days to end their conflict with Ukraine. Otherwise, he threatened Russia with a new round of sanctions.
Already, Trump had notified Russia of imposing stricter and more severe tariffs if they did not agree to peace earlier this month. Trump had originally given Russia 50 days to comply, but on Monday, he stated that he was shortening the deadline.
Trump, who recently visited Scotland to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, explained the decision to change his previous deal. There, Mr. Trump told reporters, “I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today. There’s no reason in waiting. We just don’t see any progress being made.”
The US President stated that if the Kremlin does not satisfy the conditions of the deal, “it would be sanctions and maybe tariffs, secondary tariffs” that would be placed upon Russia. Trump already made numerous threats to punish Russia regarding its attacks on Ukraine, but has yet to follow through with them. The new tariffs, if imposed on Russia, would mark a shift for the White House, which had initially excluded Russia from the levies and taxes it placed upon a number of countries back in April. Moreover, threats of secondary tariffs would also have a significant effect on Russia’s trading partners, such as China and India.
Following Trump’s return to office in January, despite saying that he could bring peace to Ukraine immediately, Russia continued the war with forces still invading northern and eastern Ukraine. President Trump seemed to have initially sided with Russia, criticizing Ukraine’s President Zelensky of starting the conflict, poorly handling the situation, and misusing American support. He then suspended supplies to Ukraine, including U.S. weapons.
However, Trump’s position seemed to shift in April, following a deal signed by Ukraine that allowed the U.S. to share its mineral reserves. Along with increased Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, Trump started to urge European and NATO allies. He also promised to restore U.S. supplies to Ukraine while also starting to disparage President Putin. In response, Andriy Yermak, chief of staff for Mr. Zelensky, quickly thanked President Trump and said it showed how the U.S. was committed to “peace through strength.”
On the other hand, Russia has seemed to ignore Trump’s original 50-day deadline, since previous deadlines set by the U.S. president had often gone without much severe punishment even if the terms weren’t met. Instead, the Kremlin has continuously complimented President Trump, with Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, having praised the Trump administration for its “reasonable approach” to Ukraine and its “readiness for dialogue.”
President Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the Kremlin’s failure to agree to a cease-fire. “Russia could be so rich right now,” he said. “Instead, they spend all their money on war. They spend everything on war and killing people. That doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “I thought [President Putin] would want to end this thing quickly.”