WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday told Russia to resolve its Ukraine war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions as he laid out plans for new infusions of weaponry for Kyiv.

“We’re very, very unhappy” with Russia, Trump told reporters as he met with Nato chief Mark Rutte in the White House. “We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent,” said Trump, adding that they would be “secondary tariffs” that target Russia’s remaining trade partners — thereby seeking to cripple Moscow’s ability to survive already sweeping Western sanctions.

Trump and Rutte also unveiled a deal under which the Nato military alliance would buy arms from the United States — including Patriot anti-missile batteries — and then distribute them to Ukraine to help it battle Russia’s invasion.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment is going to be purchased from the United States, going to Nato... and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield,” Trump said. Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, said Ukraine would get “massive numbers” of weapons under the deal.

US president to send Patriot missiles to Kyiv

Trump launched a bid at rapprochement with Putin shortly after starting his second term in January, as he sought to honor his election campaign promise to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours.

His pivot towards Putin sparked fears in Kyiv that he was about to sell out Ukraine, especially after Trump and his team berated Ukrai­nian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February.

‘Assassin’

But Trump has shown growing anger and frustration with Putin in recent weeks as the Russian leader, instead of halting his three-year invasion, instead stepped up attacks. Trump added of Putin on Monday: “I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy.” Last week, Trump had teased an announcement on Monday on Russia. He then announced on Sunday that he would send vital Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine to help it fend off escalating barrages of Russian attacks.

Washington has also U-turned from an announcement earlier this month that it would pause some arms deliveries to Kyiv. Rutte’s visit to the White House is the first since the former Dutch prime minister described Trump as “daddy” at a Nato summit in The Hague in June.

Moscow has unleashed record waves of drone and missile strikes over the past few weeks, with the number of Ukrainian civilians killed or wounded in June hitting a three-year high, according to UN figures. Trump’s announcement on Monday came as his special envoy Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv to meet Zelensky.

Zelensky hailed the “productive meeting”, saying they had discussed “strengthening Ukraine’s air defense, joint production, and procurement of defense weapons in collaboration with Europe.”

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2025