After months of fruitless negotiations with Russia, President Donald Trump finally reached his breaking point on Monday. While meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump announced that he was canceling his previous deadline, which would have given Russian President Vladimir Putin another 50 days before harsh sanctions take effect. Replacing it is a new red line of just 10 to 12 days to end his war against Ukraine.
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BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 28, 2025
Trump said he was disappointed in Putin and would shorten the deadline for his ultimatum
"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." pic.twitter.com/P3myeUq0b7
"I think I already know the answer" is a pretty big admission by Trump and points to a relationship with Putin that has frayed beyond immediate repair. No one can say the American president hasn't tried to offer Russia an off-ramp at this point. He's spoken directly to Putin about the matter several times, he's offered to broker a deal that would allow Russia to keep some of the territory it's seized, and he's held off on sanctions for six months. Trump has also not been shy about criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Unfortunately, all of that has added up to nothing, which is probably not that surprising when you consider the circumstances. Putin has had no reason to end the war because it provides political cover for him back in Russia, and Europe has still dutifully kept his coffers full by purchasing energy from Russia. A change in the latter may be why Trump is finally getting ready to pull the trigger on sanctions. With the EU having just agreed to a trade deal with the United States that will increase LNG exports to the continent, European nations can start to wean themselves off Russian oil without weakening themselves in the process.
I think a big factor in this, though, has been Putin's behavior toward Trump.
"I'm not so interested in talking anymore," Trump says of Putin, saying they have nice conversations and then the next day, more people die
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) July 28, 2025
The Russian leader has been playing a game where he pretends to want peace, only to set any hopes of it on fire immediately after whispering sweet nothings into the ears of Trump. Numerous times, the U.S. president has asked for a temporary ceasefire to set up larger talks, only for Putin to launch a barrage of cruise missiles, representing a foreign policy middle finger. Needless to say, Trump is not the kind of guy who takes personal slights in stride, nor should he in this case.
Putin has had a chance to stop his pointless war and end the carnage. He has continually refused to listen to reason (which again, is not surprising). The time to keep patting him on the head is over, and Trump understands that. As it stands, the United States has very little trade with Russia. There's no economic downside to dropping the hammer on Putin. If he's going to insist on keeping this war going, then he can do so without outside help. And given how much China relies on exports to America, Putin might want to rethink just how much substantive help he will get from his buddies in Beijing.
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