Trump sets new deadline of '10 or 12 days' for Russia

TURNBERRY, Scotland — US President Donald Trump on Monday set a new deadline of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the conflict in Ukraine or face consequences, as he met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland.

Trump has threatened sanctions on both Russia and buyers of its exports unless progress is made. The fresh deadline suggests the US president is prepared to move forward on those threats after previous hesitation to do so.

Speaking in Scotland, where he was holding meetings with European leaders and playing golf, Trump said he was disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin and shortening a 50-day deadline he had set on the issue earlier this month.

"I'm going to make a new deadline of about … 10 or 12 days from today," Trump told reporters during a meeting with Starmer. "There's no reason in waiting … We just don't see any progress being made."

Russia is still committed to achieving peace in Ukraine, the Kremlin said Tuesday, in the first reaction to Trump cutting his deadline.

"We have taken note of President Trump's statement yesterday. The SVO (special military operation) continues," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He also noted a slowdown in attempts to restore ties with the United States after Trump's comments.

"We would like to see more dynamics. We are interested in this. In order to move forward, we need impulses from both sides."

In a post on X, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Trump was playing "a game of ultimatums" that could lead to a war involving the US.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Trump's "particularly significant" statement as timely in trying to move forward to a peace settlement.

Ukraine, he said later in his nightly video address, favored tougher sanctions as a "key element" in ending the conflict.

On Monday, Trump indicated he was not interested in more talks with Putin. He said sanctions and tariffs would be used as penalties for Moscow if it did not meet Trump's demands.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said Russian glide bombs and ballistic missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight and killed at least 22 people across the country. While Russian authorities said multiple Ukrainian drone attacks across Russia's southern Rostov region have left one person dead, sparked a fire and suspended train traffic at a railway station.

Agencies Via Xinhua