President Trump on Friday reportedly signaled that his patience with Russia and Ukraine may be wearing thin, announcing a new, two-week deadline for the warring nations to demonstrate progress toward peace or risk facing strong U.S. measures.
“I think I’ll know the attitude of Russian, and frankly Ukraine,” Mr. Trump said from the White House. “And then we’ll make a decision about what we’re going to do.”
The president suggested a range of possible responses, including “massive sanctions” or “massive tariffs.” He added that he might also decide not to intervene at all, leaving the conflict to those directly involved. “I’ll see whose fault it is,” Mr. Trump said. “I know exactly what I’m doing.” He added: “I’ll know within two weeks what I’m going to do.”
For Mr. Trump, the two-week window has become a hallmark of his decision-making style. He has used it repeatedly as a means of setting expectations and applying pressure.
He said he would take two weeks to decide whether to bomb Iran but acted sooner. He has insisted federal approvals for nuclear power plants should take “two weeks.” In May, he declared he would know in “two weeks” if Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to end the Ukraine war.
The urgency comes amid an intensifying push by Mr. Trump to broker peace after more than three and a half years of conflict in Ukraine.
Though his diplomacy has produced few immediate results, he has demonstrated a willingness to engage directly with adversaries and allies alike in pursuit of an agreement.
Mr. Trump expressed frustration over a recent Russian strike on a U.S.-owned factory in Ukraine, saying he was “not happy” with the development. Still, he has kept lines of communication open. Last week, he traveled to Alaska for a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Putin, pressing the Russian leader on ending the war.
He later displayed a photograph that Mr. Putin had sent him from the meeting. “I thought it was a nice picture of him—okay of me, but nice of him,” Mr. Trump quipped, adding that he intended to sign it for the Russian president.
Ahead of his summit with Mr. Putin, the president said he expected an agreement for a cease-fire or he would retaliate against Moscow. No deal was reached, but Mr. Trump refrained from imposing new penalties. Instead, he kept the door open for diplomacy.
On Monday, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House, where he outlined a two-step plan for talks. First, Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky would meet. Then, he said, he would join both leaders for a three-way summit.
Mr. Trump also pledged U.S. assistance to enforce any eventual peace agreement and tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lead a multinational task force to determine contributions from other countries.
By coupling deadlines with the threat of economic punishment, Mr. Trump is underscoring a strategy familiar to his supporters: leverage American strength to demand accountability, while keeping the ultimate decision in his own hands.
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