US President Donald Trump issued a stark ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin, giving him a two weeks deadline to show that he is serious about ending the war in Ukraine, failing which there will be consequences. He said that in case Putin is not genuinely informing US about the efforts, they will be proceeding with a “different” approach.Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said, “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little bit differently, but it will take about a week and a half to two weeks.”Upon being asked if believes Putin genuinely wants to end the conflict, the US President said, “I can’t tell you that, but I’ll let you know in about two weeks.”His comments come amid growing frustration in Washington over Russia’s continued escalation of violence in Ukraine.“When I see rockets being shot into cities, that’s no good. We aren’t going to allow it,” Trump said, adding he was “very disappointed” by Russia’s recent wave of missile and drone attacks.Despite the rising tensions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Thursday that Putin has no plans to speak with Trump, even as Russian forces made further gains on the battlefield, capturing three more villages in eastern Ukraine, the New York Post reported.In recent days, Trump’s tone for the Russian leader has noticeably hardened. After speaking to Putin for two hours last week, a conversation he believed had set the foundation for immediate ceasefire negotiations, the Russian military launched its most intense assault on Ukraine to date. In response, Trump accused Putin of having “gone absolutely CRAZY” and “playing with fire.”Putin previously claimed he had agreed to work with Kyiv on a memorandum outlining steps toward a peace accord, including a possible ceasefire timeline. However, the Kremlin has yet to share the document with Ukrainian officials as they are still drafting its version of the agreement.Ukraine, however, sees the delay as a deliberate tactic. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi hit sharply over the delay, “The Russians’ fear of sending their ‘memorandum’ to Ukraine suggests that it is likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums, and they are afraid of revealing that they are stalling the peace process.”
