On Monday, former President Donald Trump expressed his “great disappointment” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced plans to shorten the initial 50-day deadline for a peace deal, now proposing a new deadline of “about the 10th to 12th” from today. Speaking to reporters in Scotland, he stated, “There’s no reason to wait. It was 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but I’m not making any progress.”
This initial deadline for peace negotiations was set back on July 14th. Trump continued to share his frustrations, saying, “I’m disappointed in Putin, but I’m very disappointed in him.” He noted that he would have to reconsider the timeline since he believed he already knew the outcome.
These comments came amid reports that Russia had unleashed over 300 drones and missiles across Ukraine, prompting the Ukrainian air force to scramble its responses. Trump noted that discussions with Putin had occurred but, after a series of setbacks, lamented that “Putin goes outside and sets up rockets in cities like Kyiv, killing a lot of people in nursing homes and so on.” He expressed bewilderment at Putin’s tactics and remarked, “That’s not a way to do that. So we’ll see what happens.”
No fatalities have been confirmed from a recent strike in Kyiv, though at least five people were injured, including a two-year-old girl. Other attacks targeted regions to the west and south of Kyiv.
In his statement, Trump reflected on the procedural back-and-forth surrounding the peace deal, stating, “But we had an argument… we thought it had settled down many times.” Ukrainian forces reported that of the many attacks—including 324 drones and several missiles—some did reach intended sites, while others were intercepted successfully.
President Voldimir Zelensky of Ukraine acknowledged the effectiveness of their air defenses, claiming that numerous Russian drones were shot down. He emphasized the ongoing need to fortify their air shield and mentioned plans to discuss future support from allies concerning drone production later this week.
