'Russia doesn't care' — Trump's 50-day Ukraine ceasefire deadline dismissed by Moscow pundits
U.S. President Donald Trump in East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. on July 13, 2025. (David Ramos / Getty Images)
War
After U.S. President Donald Trump on July 14 threatened to impose “severe” tariffs on Russia in 50 days if there is no peace deal with Ukraine, the highly-anticipated statement was met largely with indifference and even relief among Russian commentators.
In the first response from a senior Russian official, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, dismissed the announcement on X.
"Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin," the former Russian President wrote on July 15. "The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care."
Across various platforms, pundits and bloggers rejected the idea that the ultimatum could result in a peace deal by Trump’s 50-day deadline.
In the hours following the July 14 announcement, Russia’s Moscow Exchange rose 2.7%, according to Reuters, indicating that investors were optimistic about how Trump’s actions would affect Russia and had been expecting far harsher action from the White House.
The Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov took a tougher stance towards Trump’s comments, calling the threats “serious,” according to Russian state-controlled news outlet RBC, but said Moscow needs time to analyze the message from Washington.
Trump has so far resisted pressure from Ukraine and its allies — as well as some of his political allies in the U.S. — to impose harsher sanctions on Russia. A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate would allow Trump to levy a 500% tariff on imports from countries doing business with Russia, but Trump has so far declined to publicly endorse it.
The editor-in-chief of the magazine "Russia in Global Affairs," Fyodor Lukyanov, described Trump’s announcement as "moderate" in comments published in the major Russian newspaper Kommersant.
"If you squeeze the essence out of Donald Trump's speech in the White House," Lukyanov said, "this is what you get: He still really doesn't want to become a party to the conflict — in other words, to get involved in a full-fledged confrontation with Russia at full capacity."
"We get a lot of bullsh*t thrown at us by Putin."
Lukyanov’s view reflects a belief among many Russian pundits that the lengthy delay in imposing tariffs extends the ongoing hesitancy from Trump to crackdown on Russia — and gives ample time for him to change his mind.
"The Republican, for his part, is avoiding making drastic decisions regarding Moscow and, accordingly, does not want to provoke a mirror response from the nuclear power," wrote Kommersant columnist Dmitry Drize.
Similar views were published by pro-Russian military bloggers, the highly-influential nationalist voices that share insider war coverage and analysis of events in Russia, primarily on Telegram. The most prominent of these social media personalities can have followers in the hundreds of thousands and have played a key role in shaping public perception within Russia.
"The biggest chatterbox of the planet talked a lot and was engaged in self-promotion," wrote a blogger known as "Two Majors" to his more than a million and a quarter subscribers.
"Well, in 50 days he will be so angry he might even write a post on social media."
Still, some pointed out that Trump’s stance towards Ukraine has shifted in recent weeks, as he increasingly lashes out against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his continued refusal to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Last week, Trump made some of his harshest comments yet about the Russian leader. "We get a lot of bullsh*t thrown at us by Putin," he said at a cabinet meeting.
"He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
Despite this, in a phone interview with the BBC published on July 15, Trump said he is "disappointed but not done" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It is noticeable that the hardening of the American position is happening gradually," Russian columnist Drize wrote.
"This is what it’s like now, in 50 days it may be different."
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