Trump Reduces Deadline for Putin to Accept Ceasefire with Ukraine to 10‑12 Days

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President Donald Trump has announced a dramatic shortening of his deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire with Ukraine, reducing it from an earlier 50‑day timeframe to just 10–12 days.

Speaking on 28 July before meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in negotiations. “We just don’t see any progress being made,” he told reporters. The revised deadline reflects what the president described as a growing impatience with continued Russian bombings of Ukrainian cities, including reports of civilian casualties within nursing homes.

Earlier in the month, Trump had set an August deadline, warning that failure to reach an agreement would trigger secondary tariffs of up to 100% on goods from any countries still trading with Russia. That response now faces imminent acceleration.

“I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump said while seated alongside Starmer. He added, “I’ve spoken to President Putin a lot … he goes out and starts launching rockets into some city… You have bodies lying all over the street.” Trump described his disappointment in Putin’s actions, suggesting the Kremlin’s inaction made the extended timeline unnecessary.

Russia had previously rejected the initial deadline as unacceptable. Trump stated: “I’m not so interested in talking anymore,” indicating that diplomatic engagement has lost urgency as Russian strikes persist.

During the meeting, Trump also addressed the humanitarian situation in Gaza, announcing that the U.S. would increase food aid and work to dismantle obstacles hindering relief deliveries. “Some of those kids… that’s real starvation stuff. I see it. And you can’t fake that.”

Parallel to these diplomatic efforts, Trump and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen finalised a long-awaited U.S.–EU trade deal. Emerging from their discussions at Turnberry, Trump hailed the agreement as “the biggest deal ever made.” In return, the EU agreed to buy $750 billion in U.S. energy products and increase investment in the United States by $600 billion.

Trump also signalled that import duties for countries without a deal, including China, Canada, and Mexico, would be set between 15% and 20%, a narrowing from earlier proposals of up to 50%. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick underscored the August 1 deadline for such agreements in interviews, stating: “No extensions, no more grace periods.”