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You have 50 days to decide on Ukraine, Trump threatens Putin
Donald Trump, President of the United States, on Monday, gave an indication that his patience is running out on Russia with regards to the continued war with Ukraine, a crisis he had boasted he would solve in one day during his campaign to return to the White House, but has not been able to, more than one year into office.
Attempts at a resolution through various interventions of the US government under him, had hit the rocks, with leaders on both sides holding on to their individual positions over the war that is now in its third year after Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
Against this backdrop, Trump, has now told Kremlin to resolve the war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions as he laid out plans for new infusions of weaponry for Kyiv, reports say, quoting him as stating: “We’re very, very unhappy.”
The POTUS, on the heels of a meeting with Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, at the White House, on Monday, told reporters: “We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent. They will be secondary tariffs that target Russia’s remaining trade partners.
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.
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.
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 defense systems to Ukraine to help it fend off escalating barrages of Russian attacks at a time Washington recanted on a move earlier this month that it would pause some arms deliveries to Kyiv.
The hardline talks from the POTUS, is coming on the heels of Moscow’s increased 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.
Monday’s announcement came as Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy arrived in Kyiv to meet Zelensky, a meeting the Ukrainian President hailed as productive and geared towards “strengthening Ukraine’s air defense, joint production, and procurement of defense weapons in collaboration with Europe.”
The Ukrainian leader also said he was “grateful to President Trump for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries.”
Russian forces meanwhile said on Monday they had captured new territory in eastern Ukraine with the seizure of two villages, one in the Donetsk region and another in the Zaporizhzhia region, amid reports of of forces also killing at least three civilians in the eastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions on Monday.
“These timeless virtues of devotion, selflessness, and submission to divine will are values our nation desperately needs today,” were the exact words with which Godswill Akpabio, attempted to rouse Nigerians to the ethos of unquestionable faith and service to the country.
Akpabio, Chairman of the National Assembly, who drew example from Prophet Ibrahim, admonished Nigerians to emulate his unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
The Senate President, who conveyed his sentiments via a statement by Eseme Eyiboh, also used the specifically hail President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Kashim Shettima and Muslim faithful in Nigeria and around the world as they celebrate Eid El Kabir.
Stressing that the occasion called for prayer and sober reflection on the theme of sacrifice, he added: “This sacred occasion reminds us of Prophet Ibrahim’s unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
“To our dear President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Senator Kashim Shettima and Muslim brothers and sisters, I felicitate with them on behalf of my family, constituents and the Senate on this blessed Eid. May the lessons of sacrifice, compassion, and generosity that define this season strengthen your faith and bring peace to your homes.
“As you share with the less privileged and extend love to neighbours of all faiths, you embody the true spirit of Nigeria. To all Nigerians, I urge us to use this solemn period to pray fervently for peace, security, and prosperity in our land. Let us pray for our troops in the frontlines, for farmers to return safely to their fields, and for unity to prevail over division in our Nation.
“Eid El Kabir also calls us to deep reflection on the future of our country. Just as Prophet Ibrahim was tested, Nigeria is in a season of testing. The sacrifices we make today in patience, in tolerance and in choosing hope over despair will determine the Nigeria our children inherit.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration, supported by the National Assembly, is anchored on that same principle: that meaningful progress often requires collective sacrifice.
“May Almighty Allah accept your prayers and sacrifices. May He heal our land, guide our leaders, and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Barka da Sallah. Eid Mubarak.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the 2023 presidential election, on Tuesday, scoffed at the 45 million vote figure he supposedly scored during the primaries of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), dismissing it as fake.
Obi, sole candidate of the party for the presidential primaries in the 2027 election, attributed the development to the handiwork of forces pushing for the validation of fraud, an obvious shade at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which on Monday announced President Bola Tinubu as its candidate, with a whopping 11 million votes.
A groundswell of Nigerians had expressed amazement the huge figure, dismissing it as not only outrageously improbable but outrightly false and a gambit to skew the narrative early enough for a more sinister political gameplan ahead of the presidential election.
Obi, whose reaction came through his media office, while toeing the same line on Tuesday, urged Nigerians to disregard the figures being attributed to him, saying the NDC was yet to hold its primaries to determine his votes.
The statement, read: “The attention of the Peter Obi Media Office has been drawn to certain 45m primary vote figures currently circulating on social media and various news platforms, purporting to be the breakdown of official results from an imaginary primary by the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC ascribed to Mr Peter Obi.
“We wish to state categorically that these figures are entirely false, fabricated, as such, the primary never took place and no figure was generated from any process. We urge the general public, party supporters, and members of the press and the public to completely disregard these misleading statistics.
“Official and accurate information regarding Mr Peter Obi’s engagements and political processes will always be communicated through our verified and authorised channels and appropriately signed. Those behind this fraudulent figure attribution to Peter Obi are looking for partners in their fraud but they should look elsewhere not with Peter Obi.”
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