US President Donald Trump said a deadline for Russia to make progress toward ending its war against Ukraine is "10 days from today," or he will impose tariffs and other measures on Moscow.
"10 days from today. And then we're gonna put on tariffs and stuff," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on July 29 as he flew back to Washington following a trip to Scotland this week.
"And I don't know if it's [the deadline] going to affect Russia, because he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants to obviously probably keep the war going. But we're going to put on tariffs and the various things that you put on. It may or may not affect them, but it could."
A day earlier, Trump said he was shortening the deadline for Russia to agree to a cease-fire in Ukraine from 50 days to “10-12 days.”
The 50 days referred to an ultimatum he gave earlier this month for Putin to agree to a cease-fire or face “very severe tariffs.” At the time, Trump also suggested tariff hikes for countries that purchase Russian energy exports.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, gave a terse response to the 10-12 day deadline on July 29, saying the Kremlin had "taken note" of Trump's comments without elaborating.
There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin on Trump's latest announcement.
Trump has shown signs of growing frustration with Putin's refusal to agree to a cease-fire while at the same time pummeling Ukraine on an almost nightly basis with drone and missile strikes.
At the same time, Ukraine’s outgunned and outmanned army is also facing pressure on the ground as Russian forces are making new efforts to drive back Ukrainian defenders along a 1,000-kilometer front line in the east of the embattled country.
"You may not even have 10 days, that may shift," said State Department press secretary Tammy Bruce.
"He [Trump] shortened the [50 -day] deadline because he knew what's happening there. Trump has been patient and that may have been misinterpreted by some people. And the time for misinterpretation is over," she added.
