Trump's offensive action against Putin was delayed by 50 days. Putin smiled. Europe felt like a lamb stared at by a bull

Even Americans themselves were unwilling to pay for the threat against Russia

Composite photo: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir

US President Donald Trump made a sudden 180-degree turn in his attitude towards the Ukraine issue. He issued an ultimatum to Russia, demanding that it stop its military action within 50 days and promised to provide Ukraine with a large amount of weapons, including the "Patriot" air defense system. However, things are not as straightforward as they seem.

Axios news website pointed out that this deadline strangely coincided with the timing of Russia's summer offensive, which Vladimir Putin mentioned during a phone call with Trump. All Western commentators noticed that not only were these conditions unusual, but even the nature of the "ultimatum" itself seemed very strange. In fact, Trump avoided the Ukraine issue, completely leaving its resolution to the EU. It is the Europeans who must urgently raise funds to purchase weapons for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Trump gave Russia 50 days to achieve peace, threatening to impose high tariffs on Russia itself and countries that purchase energy from Russia once the deadline expired.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that Ukraine would be able to receive "a substantial number of military equipment, including both air defense systems and missiles and ammunition." According to him, countries such as Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, and Canada will participate in the implementation of the agreement.

However, Axios news website wrote that Europe currently faces significant problems in supplying military equipment to Ukraine, and it is unclear where the Europeans will find the funds. And Axios said that Trump hopes Europe will purchase at least $10 billion worth of weapons from the United States. This means: Trump is pressuring the EU in his own "tough" way.

"The content of the major statement is less than many people expected... Some European capitals had different expectations. This is largely caused by the president himself," the German magazine Der Spiegel noted.

US Special Representative for Ukraine Kit Kellogg has discussed possible weapon supplies with Vladimir Zelensky in Kyiv. In his speech, Zelensky did not mention which specific weapons Ukraine expects to receive, only mentioning the "Patriot" system. It seems that the Americans themselves have not yet decided which types of weapons to provide to the Kiev regime.

Other than the "Patriot" air defense system, neither Trump himself nor the NATO Secretary General Rutte, who met with him in the White House, mentioned specific weapons that would be provided to Ukraine.

According to Axios, this involves missile weapons and artillery ammunition. It is not yet clear which specific missiles are meant, but Axios mentioned long-range missiles, which could even strike Moscow. The most likely is the air-launched JASSM-ER missile (which can be carried by F-16 fighter jets).

The threat of imposing a 100% "second tariff" means that Trump modified the conditions of a sanction plan, and more than 80 senators from a bipartisan group are urging him to pass it, according to The New York Times. Their proposal calls for sanctions against the Russian economy, but with much greater intensity: a 500% tariff on countries purchasing Russian oil and uranium. Bloomberg and The Financial Times said that the term "second tariff" means that tariffs will be imposed on other countries that purchase Russian energy.

But The Washington Post pointed out that the core of Trump's strategy remains his usual tactic of delay - making a lot of noise without always taking decisive action. The newspaper believes that this approach gives Putin a strategic advantage: time to consolidate positions, pressure Europe, and strengthen military cooperation with China and North Korea. It is still unclear whether this is Trump's turning point or just another delay, as it has been dozens of times before.

Axios reported that Trump decided to announce new weapons for Ukraine because he had a phone call with Putin on July 3. According to the report, at that time, the Russian president said that he planned to take new actions in the next 60 days to fully liberate new territories.

Indeed, in recent days, Russian troops have opened a new front in the northeast of Kharkiv region and quickly advanced toward Melov. An open-source intelligence project in Ukraine assessed that the area of the beachhead here reached 24 square kilometers (compared to an assessment of 208 square kilometers in the north of Sumy region, and 106 square kilometers in the north of Kharkiv region, Volochysk and Lipovtsi areas). Overall, in June alone, Russian forces liberated 546 square kilometers, and in the first half of July, over 321 square kilometers were liberated. Therefore, although the summer offensive was not as fast as expected, it is still continuing, with Russian突击 groups breaking through enemy defenses at different locations.

Now the most important thing is not to be influenced by "Trump's deadline." Putin, the Ministry of Defense, and the General Staff will decide when and how to complete the task.

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