Russia Racing to Make Major Ukraine Gains Before Trump’s 50-Day Deadline

President Donald Trump has teased shortening a 50-day ceasefire deadline he gave Vladimir Putin, whose forces show no signs of easing their efforts to capture a logistics hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

Trump suggested on Friday that secondary sanctions against Russia could be imposed earlier than the seven-week deadline he announced this month which was criticized by some as giving Putin too much leeway in continuing his summer offensive.

When asked Friday about whether the U.S. might impose secondary sanctions on Russia before the 50-day deadline, Trump replied, “maybe.”

Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of Hope for Ukraine, told Newsweek that Putin is trying to gain as much territory as he can before the deadline. Other analysts have said that neither Russia nor the financial markets are concerned about Trump’s timeline.

Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment.

Why It Matters

Trump said on July 14 that if Putin refused to end the war within 50 days, or by September 2, Russia would face “severe” secondary tariffs which could hurt revenues supporting its war machine, particularly regarding oil exports to India and China.

But since those comments, Russia has not relented in its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, nor has it stopped its battlefield push, raising questions that Trump has given Putin a seven-week window to continue the summer offensive.

What To Know

During a White House meeting with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte in mid-July, Trump expressed his unhappiness with Moscow and warned of tariffs of 100 percent on countries doing business with Russia if no deal was done in 50 days.

The U.S. president also announced Ukraine would get more Patriot air defense missiles and other weapons paid for by NATO allies in Europe, in what looked like his toughest stance against Putin.

But since that announcement, Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities and its battlefield push continued unabated.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Friday Russian forces had likely captured Novoekonomichne, northeast of Pokrovsk in efforts to envelop the logistics hub in the Donetsk region which could allow it to push further west toward Dnipro.

The think tank said that Russian forces had also advanced into and northwest of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region—also with the aim of enveloping the city and complicating Ukraine’s ability to supply positions there.

Boyechko, founder of Hope for Ukraine, which aids communities caught up on the front line of the war, told Newsweek that Putin is trying to gain as much territory as he can before Trump’s deadline.

The Russian president is focusing now on occupying part of the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipro which via fake referendums he can later claim should be part of Russia, he said.

Boyechko predicted that next few weeks will be very difficult for Ukraine as Putin will use everything he can to make gains before September. “The Russians are attacking civilians’ targets with intensity that we have not seen since the start of war,” he said.

Retired U.S. Vice Admiral Robert Murrett said since Trump’s announcement, there is scant evidence that Putin and the Kremlin had modified their maximalist demands—for Ukrainian territory, disarmament and an absence of security guarantees.

But neither Russia nor the financial markets seemed to be overly concerned about the 50-day timeline for additional U.S. sanctions, Murrett, deputy director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law at Syracuse University, told Newsweek.

Despite the U.S. announcing additional arms to Ukraine mostly via European allies, the Kremlin is still convinced that conditions on the ground are working in their favor and is not interested in even a cease fire, regardless of Kyiv’s willingness for this, Murrett added.

A third round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks held in Istanbul on July 23 saw Moscow again reject a full ceasefire. Ukraine proposed a summit between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin before the end of August which the Kremlin has yet to accept.

Aurélien Colson, academic co-director of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business, told Newsweek that Trump had given Putin a green light to continue waging war in Ukraine for 50 more days.

Trump has already threatened Russia with sanctions or tariffs if Putin does not end the Ukraine war. “Putin ignored him every time, and Trump did nothing in response, every time. There is a pattern here, and it will be repeated,” Colsen added.

Pushan Dutt, professor of economics and political Science, at INSEAD said given Trump’s previous pledges to end the war within 24 hours of taking office, “these deadlines are not only fungible but also highly unreliable.”

However, even if Russia makes a concerted effort, success is hardly guaranteed given the small gains made since January 2024 at a high cost in troops and equipment.

What People Are Saying

Yuriy Boychehko, CEO of Hope for Ukraine: “Unfortunately, Putin got a 50-day pass to kill as many people as he can and do whatever he wants in Ukraine. He is happy use this 50 day kill pass to inflict as much pain as he can on Ukrainian people.”

Aurélien Colson, academic co-director of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business: “Trump gave Putin the green light to continue waging war in Ukraine for 50 more days. It will take more pressure against Putin and more support to Ukraine to bring this war to an end.”

What Happens Next

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that a Zelensky-Putin summit is unlikely to take place within 30 days. Meanwhile Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would speak with both Trump and Putin about convening them for talks in Turkey although eyes will be on Trump over whether he shortens the 50-day deadline.