At his Turnberry golf course in Scotland, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a fresh 10–12 day countdown for Russia to make real progress toward a peace deal in Ukraineor face stringent consequences. The shortened timeline follows an earlier 50-day ultimatum, signaling a tougher stance from the White House on the eight-month crisis.
Trump warned that if Russia and its export buyers fail to engage in meaningful talks, the U.S. may impose new sanctions and secondary tariffs. 'Theres no reason to wait,' he said, adding that the 50-day window just isnt showing any progress.
The ultimatum drew a sharp response from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who accused Trump of playing 'a game of ultimatums' and warned each new deadline pushes the world closer to a broader conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the initiative, calling the statement 'particularly significant' and stressing that tougher sanctions are key to ending the war. 'Russia pays attention to sanctions. It pays attention to losses,' Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
On the diplomatic front, negotiators from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for the third round of talks. Ukraine pushed for a summit between Zelenskyy and Putin by end of August, though the Kremlin insists any meeting would come only as a final step to seal a deal.
As the countdown begins, global watchers are weighing whether a tighter deadline and looming penalties can tip the scales toward peaceor risk escalating tensions further.
Reference(s):
Trump sets new deadline for Russia to reach Ukraine peace deal
cgtn.com
