President Donald Trump’s 50-day deadline for Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine has come and gone. And so far? Nothing. No ceasefire. No peace deal. Not even a slowdown in the Kremlin’s assault. Just more missiles, more drones, and more silence from the White House.
Fifty days ago, President Donald Trump drew a red line: Vladimir Putin had 50 days to end the war in Ukraine or face devastating “100 percent” secondary tariffs. That deadline just expired. And so far? Nothing. No ceasefire. No peace deal. Not even a slowdown in the Kremlin’s assault.
Putin’s response? More missiles. More attacks. No deal. No retreat. Not even a slowdown in the Kremlin’s assault. And no consequences.
From the start, Trump promised he could end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Then he gave Putin 50 days. Now, after the clock ran out, there’s no ceasefire, no sanctions, and more silence from the White House.
If anything, Putin looks emboldened — not isolated. And according to critics, he’s played Trump like a fiddle.
“The 50-day deadline President Trump set on July 14 produced no progress toward peace,” said Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of Hope for Ukraine. “On the contrary, we see Putin intensifying his attacks on civilians in Ukraine and he was able to sell to White House as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes against the Russian oil industry.”
Back on July 14, Trump stood next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House and delivered what was supposed to be his toughest warning yet to the Russian leader: end the war in 50 days or face “100 percent” secondary tariffs. The goal was clear — squeeze Russia economically until Putin came to the table.
Fast forward to today, and the deadline has expired. The war rages on. And Putin doesn’t seem remotely phased.
What began as a bold 50-day ultimatum was quietly revised just weeks later. On July 29, Trump cut the timeline down to 10–12 days, pushing the new deadline to somewhere around August 7–9. Even that came and went without a public move from the administration.
Then came the unexpected face-to-face. On August 15, Trump met with Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. The meeting lasted three hours. No ceasefire was announced. No sanctions followed. The Kremlin walked away without a scratch.
It’s a grim assessment. And it tracks with what’s happening on the ground. Russia has launched some of its heaviest attacks in months on cities like Kyiv, with missiles and drones slamming into civilian areas. Meanwhile, the U.S. remains frozen, with Trump apparently unwilling — or unable — to follow through on his economic threats.
“Putin used the 50 days very well,” Boyechko added, “by ending his diplomatic isolation and meeting with a leader of the free world, while convincing Trump there was no immediate need for a ceasefire.”
So what happened to the so-called “secondary tariffs”? According to Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert and adviser to Seton Hall’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations, they were never the point.
“Secondary sanctions are theater. The missiles over Kyiv prove it… they were never meant to be a weapon, just a talking point,” he said.
Trump has floated the idea of a trilateral peace summit between himself, Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He says he’s spoken with Putin and begun “the arrangements for a meeting.” But there’s no clear plan, no agreed-upon conditions, and no public response from Kyiv.
In the meantime, the original 50-day deadline has collapsed under its own weight. No end to the war. No meaningful pressure on Russia. And no explanation from the White House.
Whatever leverage Trump thought he had, it’s now in question. The world watched as he drew a line. Putin crossed it. And Trump… shrugged.
Right now, Ukrainians are still being shelled. The war continues. And Putin, once again, seems to be playing the long game — while Washington stalls.
Trump’s 50-day ultimatum wasn’t just ignored — it was steamrolled. There’s no peace, no plan, and no punishment.
Putin didn’t blink. He didn’t pause. And he certainly didn’t retreat. And yeah, he’s probably laughing.
