Taking time out from his real passion (golf), Donald Trump appears finally to have taken action to light a fire under Vladimir Putin.

Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer today at Turnberry, Scotland, where they discussed — most likely among other topics — Russia’s continuing bombardment of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s refusal to participate in meaningful ceasefire negotiations.

Following their meeting, Trump spoke to journalists and repeated earlier comments that he is “very disappointed” with Putin. Today, however, he added that he “doesn’t need to wait” for the conclusion of the original 50-day deadline he had given earlier this month, and said instead:

“I’m going to make a new deadline for about 10 or 12 days from today. When you deal with someone long enough, you know what they’re going to do — or not do. I gave him [Putin] a chance. He’s not taking it.” [RFE/RL, July 28, 2025.]

Unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. Without specifying what actions he had in mind at the end of the 10-to-12-day period, he gave himself some wiggle room by adding:

“ . . . maybe we’ll still make a deal with Russia but it’s very late in the process.” [Id.]

And further weakening the impact of his latest threat was last Friday’s comment by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the effect that Trump is “losing patience” with Moscow and “losing the desire to continue waiting.” [Id.]

Well . . . is he “losing patience,” or has he actually lost it? And will we have to wait 10 or 12 days to find out?

Putting a positive spin on this new development, Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, wrote on Telegram:

“We thank President of the United States Donald Trump for his firm position and a clear signal — peace through strength. President Trump stated that he is shortening the deadline he gave Putin to end the war because he believes the answer is obvious. Putin understands only strength, and that message has now been delivered clearly and loudly. This is a principle fully shared by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.” [Id.]

Whether Kyiv is being overly optimistic will depend in large part on the rest of Trump’s message to Putin, i.e., exactly what measures the U.S. is ready to take if the Russian leader continues to stonewall . . . and, of course, what long-term strategy Putin has in mind.

Because one thing is for certain: Vladimir Putin does nothing without a well-thought-out plan.

Stay tuned, folks.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/28/25