United States President Donald Trump announced his intention to shorten the ultimatum he previously set for Russia to end the war. On July 14, Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin 50 days to achieve a ceasefire and end military actions against Ukraine.
Trump shared this information ahead of a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to the White House.
“I am disappointed with President Putin… I will shorten those 50 days I gave him to a smaller number because I think I already know the answer to what will happen.”
– Donald Trump
Trump emphasized that agreements to end the war had been reached before, but Putin did not honor them, continuing to shell Ukraine. During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on July 14, the US president expressed his dissatisfaction with the Russian leader’s actions and promised to impose harsh tariffs if a ceasefire agreement was not reached within 50 days.
According to Trump, Ukraine seeks peace, while Russia only offers empty promises.
“If we don’t reach an agreement within 50 days, here’s what we do – tariffs. And I hope we don’t get to that point, but I hear so much talk. It’s all talk. It’s all talk, and then missiles hit Kyiv and kill 60 people. This has to stop.”
– Donald Trump
A White House representative explained to CNN that by “secondary tariffs,” Trump meant 100% duties on imports from Russia, as well as secondary sanctions against countries that buy Russian oil. Currently, the US conducts almost no trade with Russia, so such sanctions could be extremely severe.
Regarding negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, the third round of talks took place in Istanbul on July 23, 2025. The Ukrainian delegation was led by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, while the Russian side was headed by Russian President Vladimir Medinsky’s aide. The talks lasted less than an hour.
Following the meeting, Umerov announced that Ukraine proposed holding a leaders’ summit involving Turkish President Recep Erdogan and US President Donald Trump by the end of August 2025.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously noted that key topics for the upcoming meeting would include the return of prisoners and children abducted by Russia, as well as preparations for negotiations at the highest level, since, in his view, results can only be achieved at that level.