U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he would shorten the 50-day deadline he previously gave Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine to just 10-12 days.
Earlier this month, Trump demanded that Moscow make peace with Kyiv by Sept. 2 or face “very severe” economic penalties. However, Putin has shown no signs of backing down, with the Kremlin reiterating over the weekend that the so-called “special military operation” would continue until all of its war aims are achieved.
“We thought we had [the war] settled numerous times,” Trump told reporters alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland. “And then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city, like Kyiv, and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever. You have a lot of bodies lying around.”
“That’s not the way to do it,” Trump added. “I’m disappointed in President Putin… I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer, what’s going to happen.”
He later told reporters that the new deadline would be 10-12 days, which he said he plans to announce “probably tonight or tomorrow.” He added that the U.S. would introduce new sanctions and “maybe” secondary tariffs if Russia ignores the ultimatum.
“I don’t want to do that to Russia. I love the Russian people. They’re great people,” Trump said. “They’re losing a lot of Russians... that’s the sons and daughters of Russian families that leave their house, they go ‘Bye, mom, bye, dad,’ and then they get blown away.”
The U.S. president also said that he was “not so interested” in having additional phone calls with Putin. “We have such nice conversations. Such respectful and nice conversations. And then people die the following night,” he told reporters.
Trump’s 50-day deadline was viewed by some analysts as a softening of his earlier vow to end the war “on day one,” and then later “within 100 days,” of his presidency. Frustration within the White House has grown as Moscow continues to ignore peace overtures despite multiple calls between Trump and Putin and renewed U.S. diplomatic efforts.
Earlier in July, Trump promised to restart weapons shipments to Ukraine after the Pentagon unexpectedly paused part of an existing aid package that included artillery shells and precision munitions.
He is now reportedly weighing a new military aid package worth hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially the first major tranche of support for Ukraine under his administration.
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