Trump doubles down on threats against Russia, shortening deadline for Putin to 'make peace' with Ukraine or face more sanctions

When 'peace' is imposed on nations from outside parties it rarely lasts. World would be better off if Russia-Ukraine resolved their own disputes. Without US intervention this war would already be over

President Donald Trump on Monday drastically cut the 50-day deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire deal with Ukraine.

During his meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, Trump said the original 50 days, now down to about 40 days, would be slashed to "10 to 12 days."

Let it be said for the record: Trump’s policy on Ukraine now mirrors that of Joe Biden, threatening Russia while funding its enemy. Yes, people are dying on both sides, as Trump said in the above clip. But it’s not our place to get in the middle and make threats of “secondary tariffs.” If we let things play out naturally, the chances of a lasting peace will be greater than if one is imposed upon them from the outside. That’s what happened at the end of World War I, and it led to World War II. Trump says the deaths are “for no reason whatsover.” This shows he knows absolutely nothing about the history of these two bitter rivals.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded Monday by saying the situaiton in Ukraine reflects the West’s broader aim of delivering a “strategic defeat to Russia.”

Why is President Trump sticking his neck on the line for Ukraine anyway? We have to ask ourselves that. And why are reporters not asking Trump how a policy of slapping countries doing business with Russia with 100 percent U.S. tariffs will affect American consumers who depend on imports from countries like China and India? Americans will quickly find out how such sanctions hit them in the pocketbook, with inflated prices and shortages of basic goods resulting from Trump’s misguided and reckless policy. This policy will hurt Americans more than Russians.

Then there’s the question of national sovereignty. What if Putin had given an arbitrary deadline for the U.S. to stop any of its numerous wars over the last 25 years and threatened an economic blockade if the U.S. didn’t obey his command? How would that have been seen by the U.S. government? I think it goes without saying.

Putin is the presient of a sovereign nation. It’s called Russia. As such, at least the last time I checked, the Russian government was tasked with protecting the national-security interests of the Russian people, a responsibility that ranks ahead of any desires to make Trump happy in support of a corrupt American ally in Kiev.

It seems so obvious and yet it apparently has never dawned on the arrogant members of the Washington War Party (aka Uniparty made up of Republicrats and Demoplicans), but Putin is under no obligation to take orders from Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Lindsey Graham, or anyone else in Washington.

This war will end when one side militarily defeats the other side. That would have already happened had the U.S. and Europe minded their own business.

Sorry, Mr. President, but funding and supplying one side in this war and then pretending to want it to end is not a good look. That will only guarantee an artificial peace that will lead to an even bigger war down the road — World War III.

Trump had better wake up and realize who he is dealing with. Russia isn’t Iraq. It isn’t Iran. It isn’t Libya. It isn’t Syria. It isn’t Afghanistan.

Russia is a nuclear-armed superpower with hypersonic missiles that can strike deep inside Europe within minutes. Russia has demonstrated in its war with Ukraine that it can hit targets with pinpoint accuracy with the super-fast, super maneuverable hypersonics.

Dictating to Russia how it must deal with what it sees as a Western-armed, hostile foreign power operating on its border will not be tolerated in Moscow, and it could blow up in Trump’s face if he isn’t careful. Both his rhetoric and his actions are looking more and more like those of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Russia and Putin will not be bullied into standing down before they finish the job of demilitarizing Ukraine and rendering it less of a threat to Russia’s national security.

Unlike Ukraine, which Trump rightly pointed out “holds no cards,” in this war, Russia has plenty of cards.

It not only has serious military power, both conventional and unconventional, but it has a rapidly growing list of friends internationally willing to back it up economically, including China, India and other BRICS nations.

I’m not sure what Trump is thinking by continuing to try to back Putin into a corner, threatening him on behalf of the corrupt regime in Kiev. I say let the two countries battle it out and let the chips fall where they may. The U.S. has no dog in this fight, other than an imaginary one created by Victoria Nuland, the Obamas and Bidens.