Fox News pulled its programming for a breaking news alert on Monday (July 14) as US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning over Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Speaking from the White House, Trump said he is “very, very unhappy” with Russia and “disappointed” in President Vladimir Putin. He warned that if no ceasefire deal is reached with Ukraine within 50 days, the United States will impose “very severe” secondary tariffs of 100%.
Trump also revealed that billions of dollars’ worth of US military equipment would be sent to Ukraine as part of a ramped-up response to Russian aggression. “We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Trump declared. “It’s all talk until missiles go into Kyiv,” he added, warning that the war “has got to stop”. The announcement came during a high-level meeting between Trump and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. During the sit-down,
“I’m disappointed in President Putin, because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” Trump told reporters.
“We are going to be sending them weapons and they’re going to be paying for them,” the president said, with Rutte agreeing European countries should be “stepping up” and paying for the American-made materiel.
The president added that the US will approve secondary sanctions on Russia if no truce is reached, meaning those who are engaging in business with Moscow will also be targeted.
Trump, who has long resisted imposing tougher sanctions, appeared increasingly frustrated by what he called Putin’s unwillingness to reach a peace deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
When asked whether Patriot missiles or Patriot batteries would be sent to Ukraine, Trump replied: “Everything. It’s everything.”
He went on to explain that participating countries would send their own Patriot systems to Ukraine, with the US stepping in to supply those countries with replacements.
Rutte reinforced the scope of the operation, adding the deal was about “missiles, ammunition” and more.
Trump also revealed his belief that progress had been made several times in the past, stating: “I felt he had a deal with Russia on the Ukraine war about four times. And here we are still talking.”
He added: “I thought we should have had a deal done a long time ago, but it just keeps going on and on and on.”
He also acknowledged the human toll, saying “a lot of Russian soldiers and Ukrainians are dying.”
“Ukrainians continue to fight with tremendous courage,” he said, though he acknowledged that they are rapidly losing equipment.
Nato’s Rutte supported that view, condemning Russia for bombing civilian cities, saying the attacks were not for “military goals” but simply to create “panic.”
Rutte concluded the session by thanking Trump, stating that the agreement means Ukraine can get its hands on “really massive numbers of military equipment” for air defence, missiles, and ammunition.