Published: 30th July 2025 | The English Chronicle Desk | The English Chronicle Online
In a rare moment of frank acknowledgement, U.S. President Donald Trump has admitted that the United States’ much-anticipated sanctions strategy against Russia may ultimately fail to deter President Vladimir Putin from continuing the war in Ukraine. The statement, delivered aboard Air Force One during a press briefing, comes as global concern intensifies over the lack of progress in peace negotiations and the resurgence of deadly Russian offensives on Ukrainian cities.
Only a day after dramatically reducing his self-imposed ceasefire deadline from 50 days to just “10 or 12 days,” Trump appeared to cast doubt over the effectiveness of any economic retaliation aimed at halting Russian aggression. While reaffirming his administration’s commitment to implementing tariffs and financial penalties, he simultaneously conceded that Putin’s resolve may render such measures toothless. “I don’t know if it’s going to affect Russia,” Trump said. “Because he wants to, obviously, probably keep the war going.”
Despite these reservations, Trump reiterated that sanctions remain imminent, with plans to impose economic measures against not only Russia but also its key trading partners. He maintained that the tariffs “may or may not affect them. But it could,” signalling an ambivalence that has underscored much of his administration’s foreign policy rhetoric in recent months. Earlier, the president had suggested that Russia had until early September to withdraw from Ukraine, but that deadline has now been fast-tracked in what appears to be a reaction to escalating violence on the ground.
Trump’s increasingly sharp tone towards Putin marks a notable shift. The American president has historically walked a fine line in his dealings with the Russian leader, often expressing admiration even as political tensions between the two nations have risen. Now, however, the rhetoric has grown more forceful, driven in large part by Russia’s unrelenting airstrikes on key Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia. The recent wave of Russian missile attacks killed at least 27 civilians and wounded dozens more, including in a devastating strike on a nursing home in Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
“We thought we had that [ceasefire] settled numerous times,” Trump lamented while speaking at Trump Turnberry in Scotland. “And then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever. You have bodies lying all over the street, and I say that’s not the way to do it.”
Efforts to mediate the conflict have produced little tangible progress. The third round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks held last week in Istanbul failed to achieve any significant breakthroughs beyond prisoner swaps and the repatriation of dead soldiers. Despite mounting international pressure, the war remains locked in a brutal stalemate, with little indication that either side is prepared to make the concessions necessary for a sustainable ceasefire.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham initially floated the idea of punitive tariffs reaching up to 500 per cent on Russian goods and its trading network. However, Trump has since tempered that proposal, hinting last month that his administration would likely opt for a more moderate 100 per cent tariff regime. The strategy is aimed at indirectly pressuring Moscow by disrupting its economic partnerships with major allies, particularly China and India—two countries that have refused to fully align with Western efforts to isolate Russia.
Yet even this strategy appears vulnerable. A recent investigative report revealed that both China and India have been actively finding ways to circumvent sanctions, including through the use of front companies and indirect trade channels. Moreover, evidence has emerged that private Indian firms have supplied materials directly contributing to Russia’s military efforts. One such deal reportedly involved a $1.4 million sale of explosive compounds between an Indian enterprise and two Russian companies.
These revelations have raised serious doubts over whether economic pressure—however severe—will be sufficient to bring Putin to the negotiating table in earnest. With Ukraine continuing to suffer devastating losses and civilian infrastructure under constant threat, the question facing the international community is not just how to end the war, but whether existing diplomatic and economic tools are capable of shifting Moscow’s calculus.
As Trump prepares to impose sanctions within the coming days, the international community watches with cautious pessimism. For now, the war grinds on, fuelled by entrenched political wills, hardened military positions, and a growing sense that words and sanctions alone may not be enough to stem the tide of destruction sweeping across Eastern Europe.
