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Ukraine war latest: Trump threatens Russia with 'severe' tariffs if no Ukraine deal reached in 50 days

6 min read
Ukraine war latest: Trump threatens Russia with 'severe' tariffs if no Ukraine deal reached in 50 days
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks while meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC on July 14, 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Key developments on July 14:

  • Trump threatens Russia with "severe" tariffs if no Ukraine deal reached in 50 days
  • Patriot systems, missiles may arrive in Ukraine 'within days,' Trump says
  • Ukraine contracts "tens of thousands" interceptor drones
  • Putin reportedly told Trump he'll intensify eastern Ukraine offensive over next 2 months

The U.S. will impose "severe tariffs" on Russia unless it agrees to a deal on ending the war in Ukraine within 50 days, U.S. President Donald Trump said in his long-anticipated announcement on July 14.

"We're gonna be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs that are about 100%, we call them secondary tariffs," Trump said during a joint press conference in the White House alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The announcement comes amid growing frustration from Trump over Russia's delays in advancing peace efforts in Ukraine. The U.S. president had initially vowed to broker a peace deal within 24 hours of taking office.

Talking to journalists in the White House, the U.S. president once again distanced himself from the Russia-Ukraine war, saying: "It wasn't my war. It was (former U.S. President Joe) Biden's war. It’s not my war. I'm trying to get you out of it."

"And we want to see it end. I'm disappointed in President (Vladimir) Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn't seem to get there," he added.

Recent weeks saw Russia ramp up aerial strikes across Ukrainian cities after repeatedly rejecting calls by Kyiv and its Western partners for a ceasefire.

The secondary tariffs presented by Trump appear to fall short of a bipartisan U.S. Senate bill, which seeks to impose a 500% tariff on imports from countries that continue purchasing Russian oil and raw materials.

Commenting on Trump's announcement, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said that the proposed timeline for a peace deal is too lengthy.

"On the one hand, it is very positive that President Trump is taking a strong stance on Russia. On the other hand, 50 days is a very long time if we see that they are killing innocent civilians, also every day," she said in Brussels on July 14.

"It is clear that we all need to put more pressure on Russia so that they would also want peace."

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Patriot systems, missiles may arrive in Ukraine "within days," Trump says

Some Patriot air defense systems and missiles may arrive in Ukraine "within days," U.S. President Donald Trump said during a press conference with NATO chief Mark Rutte on July 14.

When asked when certain weapons, including missiles to Patriot air defense systems, were expected to arrive in Ukraine, Trump responded by saying "a full complement with the batteries... We're going to have some come very soon, within days."

"A couple of the countries that have Patriots are going to swap over and will replace the Patriots with the ones they have," Trump added.

On July 13, Trump said that Washington would send Patriots to Ukraine, though he did not specify whether the pledge referred to full batteries or interceptor missiles.

Patriot systems are a key component of Ukraine's air defense architecture due to their ability to intercept missiles at long ranges.

European allies are in talks to purchase "more than three" Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine, a German government spokesperson said, the Guardian reported on July 14.

Trump and Rutte also unveiled a scheme under which NATO will purchase advanced arms from the U.S., including air defense systems, and deliver some of them to Ukraine.

"We're gonna make top-of-the-line weapons, and they'll be sent to NATO. NATO may choose to have a certain (number) of them sent to other countries... where the country will release something, and it will mostly be in the form of a replacement," Trump said.

The U.S. will sell around $10 billion in weapons to NATO allies in a first wave of arms designed to support Ukraine, Axios reported on July 14, citing an undisclosed source. The shipment will reportedly include missiles, air defense weaponry and artillery shells.

Following the announcement, President Volodymyr Zelensky held separate phone calls with Trump and Rutte.

"Thank you for your willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace," Zelensky said following his conversation with Trump.

Likewise, Zelensky thanked Rutte and added that "the U.S., Germany, and Norway are already working together" to deliver the Patriot air defense systems.

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Ukraine contracts "tens of thousands" interceptor drones

Ukraine has contracted "tens of thousands" of interceptor drones, director of the Defense Procurement Agency, Arsen Zhumadilov, said in an interview published on July 14.

Speaking with Ukrainian media outlet Babel, Zhumadilov said that interceptor drones have now entered mass-production.

The technology is critical for Ukraine's air defense as Russia's aerial attacks have escalated significantly over the past few months. During just the last week, Russia launched over 1,800 drones against Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 13.

"Tens of thousands (drones). This is what we have already contracted and will continue to contract. Our contracting now, on the one hand, depends on the manufacturer's capacity, and on the other hand, on the state budget's capacity," Zhumadilov said.

"We will definitely contract everything that the state budget can afford," he added.

According to Zhumadilov, if a manufacturer can produce more drones than there is funding for, the agency will sign contracts with partner countries to transfer drones as part of international military aid.

Alternatively, they will sign contracts under the "Danish model," meaning EU countries fund Ukrainian arms producers to supply weapons to Ukraine's military.

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Putin reportedly told Trump he'll intensify eastern Ukraine offensive over next 2 months

Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump that he intends to escalate military operations in eastern Ukraine within the next 60 days, Axios reported on July 14, citing unnamed sources familiar with a call between the leaders earlier this month.

The revelation comes amid intensified Russian assaults in Donetsk Oblast and attempts to breach neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a region that has so far avoided significant incursions during the full-scale war.

During their July 3 conversation, Putin reportedly said that Moscow intended to continue offensive operations until it secured the full administrative borders of occupied Ukrainian oblasts.

"He wants to take all of it," Trump reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron after the call.

Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine's territory, including most of Luhansk Oblast, two-thirds of Donetsk Oblast, and some parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts.

Moscow illegally declared the annexation of the four oblasts following sham referenda in late 2022, incorporating them into its constitution — a move that holds no weight internationally.


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