• Source:JND
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President Donald Trump on Monday issued a bold ultimatum to Russia, threatening to impose steep economic penalties if Moscow fails to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days. The announcement was made during a high-level Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. 

“We're going to be doing 100% tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days,” Trump declared. Though he didn’t specify the exact details of the tariffs, he emphasised his strategy of using trade as diplomatic leverage. “I use trade for a lot of things,” he said. “But it's great for settling wars.” 

Trump expressed exasperation over repeated conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin that have failed to yield results. “I felt we had a deal on Ukraine about four times. We should have had a deal done,” he said.

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Describing the dynamic, Trump added, “I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done, and I always hang up and say, 'Well, that was a nice phone call.' And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and I say, 'Strange.' After that happens three or four times, you say, 'The talk doesn’t mean anything.'”

US To Send Patriot Missiles To Ukraine

In addition to the economic warning, Trump announced that the US will supply Ukraine with Patriot missile systems to bolster its defence against ongoing Russian attacks. This signals a significant expansion of American military assistance to Kyiv. 

Trump’s aggressive trade posture has also extended to America’s European allies. The European Union's trade commissioner stated that the bloc is considering retaliatory tariffs after Trump threatened to impose a 30 per cent duty on European goods starting next month if a trade deal isn’t reached. 

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The White House defended the Department of Justice following reports of internal conflict between Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino over Jeffrey Epstein-related files. “Top DOJ officials are working in lockstep,” a White House statement assured.