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US President Donald Trump said on Monday he is to reduce the 50-day deadline he previously set for Russia to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine, highlighting his growing frustration with the ongoing all-out war, now well into its fourth year.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said in comments alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland.
“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.”
“I’ve spoken to President Putin a lot, I’ve gotten along with him very well,” he said, adding that 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 bodies lying all over the street.”
Trump, who boasted on the presidential campaign trail several times that he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine within a day, said he and Putin have been close to reaching a ceasefire deal five times, but a final agreement has remained elusive.
Trump’s 50-day ultimatum
Earlier this month, Trump said he had given Russia 50 days to reach a peace deal or face what he described as “very severe” economic sanctions during a visit to Washington by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
While some believe strict tariffs on Moscow could be a game changer, the postponement until September was seen by others as being too long.
Russia is making a summer push to break through the 1,000-kilometre front line, and its drones and missiles are hammering Ukrainian cities more than at any time in the past three years.
For Russia, Trump’s delay of new sanctions is a reprieve.
Ukraine’s depleted army has recently been losing more territory, but there is no sign of a looming collapse of the front line, analysts say.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke to Trump on Monday, expressing gratitude for the decision to send more Patriot air defence missiles, which are vital to defending Ukrainian cities.
“We discussed … the necessary measures and decisions to provide greater protection for people from Russian attacks and strengthen our positions,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
“We agreed to talk more often and coordinate our steps in the future.”
Additional sources • AP
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