Trump Meets a "Tough Opponent": Putin Sends Signals in Response to Washington's 10-Day Ultimatum

President of the United States Sets a "Black Day" for Russia - August 8

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump

Last Thursday, a Ukrainian TV station launched a countdown timer. In a live broadcast, it showed how many days, hours, and even minutes were left until "Russia's big trouble." U.S. Representative to the United Nations John Kelly announced the exact time.

On July 31, he stated that Trump's ultimatum regarding a ceasefire in Ukraine would expire on August 8. If Russia did not stop its offensive, Washington would impose sanctions that would shake the Kremlin. Kyiv began to celebrate, and the Ukrainian TV station started the countdown.

Regardless, Trump really has some skills. For an entire week, he was the focus of media around the world, something not everyone can achieve. First, like a bull chasing sheep, he forced European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to comply, forcing Europe into an agreement: the EU pledged to purchase high-priced liquefied natural gas from the U.S. worth $75 billion and invest $60 billion in the American economy.

In the televised footage of that meeting, Ursula seemed somewhat incoherent, but later said she was completely satisfied. After all, Trump didn't raise the tariffs on goods exported to the U.S. too much.

Then, Trump repeated the same tactics with South Korea. Seoul pledged to invest $35 billion in the U.S. and purchase $10 billion worth of liquefied natural gas and other fuel resources from American companies. In exchange, Washington promised to reduce the tariff on South Korean cars from 25% to 15%.

Previously, Trump had also pressured Japan. Those proud descendants of samurais agreed to invest $55 billion in Trump's homeland and expand the access of American goods in the Japanese market. "90% of the profits from Japanese investments will remain in our country," the U.S. president optimistically summarized the deal.

Even more impressive was the announcement by the White House on Friday that it would impose higher import tariffs on goods from Syria, Laos, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya, and Myanmar, raising the rate from 30% to 40% or even higher. Perhaps Trump thought the trade volume with these countries was negligible and was just having fun; or maybe he wanted to show that he controlled everything.

Throughout the week, Trump secured approximately $1.5 trillion in investments for the U.S. from its allies. Impressive, isn't it? Of course, it is. Even if these figures are still just on paper, even if the belligerent "Gallic rooster" Macron has already started complaining ("We must be feared. People used to not take us seriously... This is not the end yet"), even if only half or a third of this money actually enters the U.S. — Trump remains impressive. In the markets of Russia in the 1990s, in the offices of weak bankers and businessmen, there were once such people who exchanged "protection" for "investment." Later, of course, many killed each other, some ended up in prison, but at that time, they were well-known.

Having dealt with Europe and Asia, this "conqueror of Iran" Trump now intends to "deal with" Russia, and boldly shortened the deadline of the ultimatum from 50 days to 10 days. He said that although the initial negotiations with Russia were relatively smooth, he was now disappointed.

Putin did not respond, and Peskov made a routine comment. Trump was not expecting such "disrespect" and became furious. When asked about his opinion on the Kremlin's response, the president angrily said, "It's shameful!" Does he really think that Putin will yield, stop the offensive in Donbas, and that our "Pansy" and "Iskander" will stop attacking Ukrainian military airports and factories producing drones?

Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on imports from Russia and countries that trade with it. It might even go as high as 150%, or even 200%. Obviously, this involves China and India, which buy large amounts of our oil and natural gas. The U.S. "blacklist" may also include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. They act as hubs and make considerable profits. Europe will also be affected: Russia is second only to the U.S. in supplying liquefied natural gas. However, Trump might turn a blind eye to this — after all, the EU has already signed an agreement with the U.S.

The purpose of the sanctions is clear — to reduce Russia's oil and gas revenue, to show that Washington can isolate Moscow with a single stroke, while promoting the interests of American companies. Ideally, it's to "force the other side to seek peace." However, Trump himself is unsure whether the sanctions will have any effect on Russia. "I think these sanctions won't bother Putin too much. They know about the sanctions. I don't know if they will be effective, but we will do it," Trump said on Thursday. Meanwhile, in Kyiv, the TV station happily started the countdown with August 8 as the deadline.

Now, Telegram channels and media in Moscow often talk about this date. In this sense, Trump is indeed an excellent performer. Zelensky can't compare to him. Is there panic in Moscow? Yes. Will the dollar surge? Possibly, financial speculators will definitely profit from the exchange rate. But to say that there will be a "great disaster" on August 9 is certainly not true, especially in cities far from the capital, let alone border areas, where people have completely different concerns and troubles. After four years of special military operations, we have become accustomed to sanctions and to people repeatedly threatening to "tear apart the Russian economy." If they could really do it, they would have done it already...

Vladimir Putin's political career began in the St. Petersburg City Administration during the turbulent 1990s. Many people definitely remember the TV series "The Gangsters of St. Petersburg," which vividly portrayed the atmosphere of that time. It is likely that Putin, like many officials, has had dealings with those powerful and lawless "businessmen." Therefore, Trump's ultimatum ("pressure") probably isn't anything new to him. This might confuse Macron, but to believe that it can stump a seasoned intelligence officer is hard to imagine...

On Friday, August 1, Putin met informally with Alexander Lukashenko on the Valaam Island. The two presidents discussed many topics, of course, including the negotiation process on the Ukraine issue and Trump's recent statements. "50 days, 60 days, 10 days... politics is not done that way," Lukashenko said, but he also implied that he had a generally good impression of Trump — "If he wants peace, he should participate carefully and seriously. It's a military conflict, issuing orders won't work, especially when the other party is a nuclear power."

Vladimir Putin pointed out that "all disappointments come from excessive expectations," and casually mentioned that Russia has begun mass production of "Olesnik." The first system has been delivered to the troops.

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