VLADIMIR Putin has just hours left to convince Donald Trump he’s serious about ending the war in Ukraine – or face a punishing wave of US sanctions.
The White House’s Friday deadline demands “progress” from Moscow towards reaching peace after three years of conflict.
Putin has just hours left to convince Donald Trump Russia’s serious about ending the war in Ukraine – or face sanctions[/caption]
Russian drones targeted Kharkiv in a series of new attacks on Ukraine just hours before Trump’s deadline[/caption]
Trump is ‘disappointed’ with Putin and insists he could end war in single day[/caption]
Otherwise, Washington will slam down secondary sanctions targeting Russia’s oil lifeline and key alleys like Russia and China.
But as the clock ticks, Putin appears defiant.
Overnight, Russian drones hit homes, schools, and sports facilities across Ukraine in fresh airstrikes.
Ukrainian civilians were wounded in the assault, including a 16-year-old girl in Bucha.
The town’s mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said: “We have destruction as a result of a Russian terrorist attack on our community.
“Russia is a terrorist country. The whole world should know about this… so that no one would shake hands with Russia knowing about the murders and atrocities against Ukrainians.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s patience is wearing thin.
Speaking last night, a visibly frustrated Trump said of Putin: “It’s going to be up to him.
“We’re going to see what he has to say. Very disappointed.”
Trump has made ending the war a top foreign policy priority since returning to office, boasting that he could stop it in a single day.
But despite backchannel phone calls and “typically friendly” exchanges with Putin, peace remains elusive.
“They would like to meet with me. I’ll do whatever I can to stop the killings,” Trump said.
But the US President dismissed claims that next week’s historic summit hinges on a three-way meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Asked if Putin needed to meet Zelensky in order to meet him, Trump clarified: “No, he doesn’t.”
Putin’s drones also targeted the Ukrainian town of Bucha, injuring a 16-year-old girl[/caption]
Who has the upper hand?
by Juliana Cruz Lima, Foreign News Reporter
RIGHT now, everything hangs in the balance – and the power dynamic could shift in a heartbeat.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former British Army officer and military analyst, said the fact the summit is even happening is a win in itself.
But as for who’s calling the shots? That’s where things get complicated.
Noting the Russian leader still believes he’s making ground in Ukraine, the expert told The Sun: “Until fairly recently, it’s been pretty clear that President Putin has absolutely no desire for peace.
“His aim at the beginning of his special military operation over three and a half years ago was to subjugate the whole of Ukraine.”
According to de Bretton-Gordon, Trump has only recently woken up to the fact that he’s being played.
“It would appear that Trump has had a bit of an epiphany, a bit of a change of mind, and has now realised that Putin has been playing him.”
And now, Don is bringing the businessman in him and threatening to hit Russia where it hurts most: the wallet.
“If Trump follows through with his sanctions and tariffs… then this is the reason I think that Putin has come to the table,” de Bretton-Gordon explained.
“Economic and financial analysts who really know about these things believe that the Russian economy would peter out pretty quickly without the massive amounts of money and resources it gets from oil.”
In other words, Trump holds the economic sledgehammer — if he’s willing to swing it.
But Putin isn’t out of the game. His forces are still advancing, still hammering Ukrainian cities, and still killing civilians.
“Russia seems to be moving forward slowly,” de Bretton-Gordon warned.
“Attacking civilian targets in Ukraine at an unbelievable scale.”
Zelensky, meanwhile, remains the wild card.
“The people who are most important here are the Ukrainians,” he said.
“A bad deal for Ukraine is worse than no deal at all.”
And that’s the real risk. Trump might be chasing headlines, not justice.
“I think Trump probably just wants to get a deal of some description,” the former army officer said.
“One just hopes that Trump doesn’t try and do some sort of backhand deal with Putin, just so that he can claim that there is now peace in Ukraine, because the short-term peace is no good to anybody.”
So who has the upper hand? Right now, it’s still up for grabs.
But if Trump sticks to his economic guns, and if Putin starts to feel the heat on the home front, the balance might just tip.
