A deadline has been drawn across the calendar, not in ink but in the patience of nations. Standing beside Britain's prime minister, the American president gave Moscow a window of ten or twelve days to end the war in Ukraine, or face tariffs on those who trade with it. The span is shorter than the fifty days he had offered only weeks earlier, and it carries the weight of a man who has grown weary of waiting for an answer he believes he already knows. Whether this moment becomes a turning point or one more dated promise that quietly slides away is a question the coming days will answer.
Trump Cuts Russia's Ukraine Deadline to '10 or 12 Days' as Secondary Tariffs Loom
Trump cited Russian missile strikes on Kyiv that killed many people, including residents of a nursing home.
"Every time I think it's going to end, he kills people."
Mark
Trump cut his own deadline from 50 days to 10 or 12. What changed?
Mimi
By his account, the killing did. He pointed to Russian strikes on Kyiv, including a nursing home, and said he sees no progress despite his talks with Putin.
Mark
And that's a notable shift in tone for him.
Mimi
Very. He spent years praising Putin. Since April he has gone from "not happy" to openly rebuking him.
Luke
Worth saying the reason is Trump's own explanation. The reporting doesn't show what was said privately or whether anything else drove the timing.
Mark
Does Moscow care?
Mimi
Lavrov and analyst Markov both brushed it off. Russia's trade with the US is only a few billion dollars.
Luke
Those are public statements from the Russian side, though, not proof of what the Kremlin actually calculates. And the claim that it "laughs" at the threat is the article's characterization.
Mark
What about follow-through?
Mimi
Trump has a history of "two weeks" that stretched on. The formal announcement was still pending when he spoke.
Luke
Right, so there is no confirmed tariff yet, only a stated intention and a date that hasn't been formalized.
Mark
Who gets hurt if it happens?
Mimi
China and India, the biggest buyers of Russian crude, with India having saved billions on cheap oil.
Le Pouls
- A hard new clock of ten to twelve days has been set, cutting the earlier fifty-day window and pulling the cutoff toward early August.
- The president's frustration boiled over after Russian missile strikes on Kyiv, with the death of nursing home residents hanging over the announcement.
- Secondary tariffs of around 100 per cent are being prepared as the lever, with the threat aimed at Russia's oil buyers as well as Moscow itself.
- Moscow appears unmoved, dismissing the ultimatum as one more in a long line, while Trump's history of extended deadlines leaves markets and capitals doubting the threat will hold.
A deadline has been drawn across the calendar, not in ink but in the patience of nations. Standing beside Britain's prime minister, the American president gave Moscow a window of ten or twelve days to end the war in Ukraine, or face tariffs on those who trade with it. The span is shorter than the fifty days he had offered only weeks earlier, and it carries the weight of a man who has grown weary of waiting for an answer he believes he already knows. Whether this moment becomes a turning point or one more dated promise that quietly slides away is a question the coming days will answer.
Standing beside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump announced that he was giving Vladimir Putin "10 or 12 days" to end the war in Ukraine or face secondary tariffs. The new deadline arrived sharply sooner than the fifty days he had set earlier in July, and he said the formal announcement would follow within a day.
Trump spoke as a man disappointed. He said he saw no progress, that he had often spoken with Putin and got along with him, and that each time a deal seemed close, Russia struck a city like Kyiv and killed many people, including residents of a nursing home. "Every time I think it's going to end, he kills people," he said, adding that he was no longer interested in talking.
The tone marked a sharp change from years of praise for the Russian leader. Yet doubts remain in Moscow, where the threat of trade penalties is seen as weak given the small volume of US-Russia trade, and where Russia has lived under Western sanctions since 2022. Trump's record of promised answers in "two weeks" that quietly slid away has earned him the nickname TACO, and it weighs on how seriously the deadline is taken.
If tariffs do arrive, the cost could fall on China and India, the largest buyers of Russian crude. Whether Trump follows through when the clock runs out, and who pays if he does, is what comes next.
Standing beside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a press conference, US President Donald Trump said he is giving Russia's Vladimir Putin "10 or 12 days" to end the war in Ukraine, or face secondary tariffs. He said he would formally announce the new deadline "tonight or tomorrow." The window is far shorter than the 50 days he set earlier in July.
Trump framed the decision as one born of disappointment. He said he sees no progress being made and that he had spoken to Putin often and got along with him well. He said he would have told reporters five times that a deal between Russia and Ukraine was done. Then, he said, Putin launches rockets into a city like Kyiv and kills many people, in a nursing home or elsewhere, with bodies lying in the streets. "Every time I think it's going to end, he kills people," he said, adding that he is "not so interested in talking anymore." On waiting out the clock, he asked: if you know what the answer is going to be, why wait?
The tone marks a shift. For years, going back to before he ran for office, Trump flattered Putin, calling him extremely smart and a great leader. In April he posted on Truth Social that he was "not happy" with the Russian leader, warning that "things will happen" if attacks continued. In July, a week after Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur, Trump rebuked Putin, saying he throws "a lot of bullshit at us." He announced weapons for Ukraine routed through NATO and the 50-day deadline, with tariffs of about 100 per cent, which he called secondary tariffs, if no deal emerged. The shortened timeline pulls the cutoff to around 9 August rather than September.
There are reasons to doubt the Kremlin is moved. Trump took office promising to end the war within 24 hours. Russia has lived under Western sanctions since its February 2022 invasion, and its trade with the United States amounts to only a few billion dollars, so threats to its exports are reportedly seen as laughable in Moscow. Lavrov dismissed the pattern earlier this month: "Fifty days! It used to be 24 hours; it used to be 100 days. We've been through all of this." Russian analyst Sergey Markov wrote on Telegram that Russia's response would be the same as to every ultimatum for 500 years: "Go away! Go to hell." The source describes Russia as bent on taking large parts of Ukraine.
Trump's own record adds to the uncertainty. He has often promised answers in "two weeks" and then let the date slide, especially on tariffs. In April, on military aid, he said to ask again in two weeks. At the end of April, asked whether he trusts Putin, he said, "We'll let you know in about two weeks." In May he said he would know in a week, or a few days, whether Putin was stringing him along, and later that he would decide within two weeks whether Ukraine was serious. The pattern spawned the acronym TACO, for "Trump always chickens out," which has reportedly angered him.
If the tariffs do come, the pain may land beyond Russia. China and India are the largest buyers of Russian crude. In 2024 Russia supplied roughly a third of India's crude imports and nearly a fifth of China's, and India in particular has saved billions of dollars on cheap Russian oil over the past year. Whether Trump follows through when the 10 or 12 days run out, and who absorbs the cost if he does, is what to watch next.
Citations marquantes
I'm disappointed in President Putin.— Donald Trump
Fifty days! It used to be 24 hours; it used to be 100 days. We've been through all of this.— Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur Firstpost ↗
Politics & Governance