U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo:VCG

US President Donald Trump said Monday he is giving Russia 10 to 12 days to cease fire in Ukraine, shortening a 50-day deadline he had previously said two weeks ago, according to AP on Monday. 

"I'm going to make a new deadline of about ... 10 or 12 days from today," Trump told reporters during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made," Reuters reported.

The plan includes possible sanctions and secondary tariffs targeting Russia's trading partners. The formal announcement would come later Monday or on Tuesday, Trump said in Scotland, as reported by AP.

Two weeks ago, Trump said President Vladimir Putin had 50 days to end the war or Russia would face severe tariffs, BBC reported. At that time, he claimed buyers of Russian exports would face tariffs "at about 100%" if there were no ceasefire deal with Ukraine by September, CNBC reported.

Following the statement, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in a post on X that Trump was playing "a game of ultimatums" and "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country."

At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised Trump's "particularly significant" statement and thanked Trump on X.

Zelenskiy wrote in a later post that Ukraine favored tougher sanctions as a "key element" in ending the war, according to Reuters.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun previously said on Thursday during a press conference that China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. 

"We support all efforts conducive to peace and hope parties will remain committed to the political settlement of the crisis and work together for de-escalation," the spokesperson added.

Global Times