Trump gives Russia 10-Day ultimatum to end war in Ukraine or face tariffs

US President Donald Trump warned on July 29 that tariffs on Russia would take effect in 10 days if Moscow fails to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine, according to an audio recording released by the White House.

"Ten days from today. And then we're gonna put on tariffs and stuff," Trump said in response to a reporter's question before boarding Air Force One. The planned measures reportedly include secondary sanctions targeting countries that purchase Russian oil, gas, and other goods—such as China and India.

Trump expressed doubt about the impact of the tariffs, saying, “I don't know if it’s gonna affect Russia, because he [President Vladimir Putin] wants to obviously probably keep the war going.”

The statement follows Trump’s earlier July 14 ultimatum, in which he threatened to impose severe tariffs—up to 100%—if no peace deal was reached within 50 days. On July 28, he said he was no longer willing to wait. “There’s no reason in waiting,” Trump said. “It’s 50 days, I wanted to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”

Trump also criticized Putin for continuing the war despite previous peace efforts: “We thought we had that settled numerous times… then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever.”

Asked about a possible future meeting with the Russian leader, Trump replied: “I'm not so interested in talking anymore. He talks with such nice conversations… and then people died the following night.”

In response, Russian Security Council Deputy Chair Dmitry Medvedev accused Trump of pushing both nations closer to direct conflict. “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev wrote on X.

Despite Trump’s renewed warnings, Russia continues its drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, with fighting ongoing across multiple fronts.