Overview

• President Trump set a 50-day deadline for Russia to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire or face very steep tariffs and secondary sanctions targeting its energy buyers.
• A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said potential U.S. sanctions were long since old news and asserted that Moscow does not accept external threats.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov initially described the ultimatum as serious but said Russia needed time to analyse Washington’s proposal and awaited Ukrainian negotiating terms.
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt faltered when pressed to justify 100% secondary tariffs given only $3 billion in U.S.-Russia trade last year.
• Ukraine’s conflict remains deadlocked as the 50-day countdown begins with little indication that Moscow will move toward a peace deal.