Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump

Donald Trump made it clear last week – Vladimir Putin’s chance to end the war in Ukraine will expire this Friday.

The US president said if his Russian counterpart did not stop his brutal invasion, then he would impose full-scale sanctions on Russia.

To prove he meant it, Trump followed through on his threat of slapping secondary sanctions on countries who still buy Russia’s cheap oil exports this week.

He imposed a 25% tariff on Indian exports to the States, set to kick in later this month, because, according to the Trump, India “doesn’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”.

Then the US’s special envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Russia for three hours of mysterious talks with Putin on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, shake hands during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025.

So, when the Kremlin says Putin plans to meet with Trump “in the coming days”, it definitely seems like that the White House’s threats have forced the Russian leader to cave.

But the Russian president has played Trump before – and there’s no suggestion that he will not just do it again.

Even during the Republican’s first term in........

© HuffPost