President Trump isn’t playing games anymore—not with Vladimir Putin, and certainly not with Russia’s mouthpiece, Dmitry Medvedev. After months of attempting to broker a truce in Ukraine that serves U.S. interests and global stability, Trump made it clear this week: the time for stalling is over.
During a high-level meeting with newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump announced a sharply reduced timeline for Russia to make serious moves toward peace. “I’m going to make a new deadline, of about 10, 10 or 12 days from today,” he said. “There’s no reason for waiting. It was 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”
That firm stance triggered an unhinged response from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who posted a warning on Twitter/X dripping with hostility—and not-so-subtle threats.
“Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10… He should remember 2 things:
Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10… He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!
Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!”
Coming from a man who’s held just about every major title in Russia’s political hierarchy and still operates within Putin’s orbit, that post wasn’t casual banter. Medvedev doesn’t speak without approval. When he lashes out, it’s typically because the Kremlin wants him to.
But Trump wasn’t about to let that pass.
In a blistering Truth Social post, President Trump made it crystal clear: he’s done being toyed with. The gloves are off.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!”
Just hours before that post, Trump hit India with substantial tariffs—a 25% duty plus penalties—beginning August 1st. That move came after India continued to funnel billions into Russia’s defense and energy sectors, undermining international efforts to isolate Putin’s war machine. It was a bold stroke from a leader who understands that when sanctions are watered down or delayed, enemies take note.
“Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country. Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!”
While much of the foreign policy establishment still clings to failed “strategic patience” and backroom diplomacy, Trump has made it clear that peace must come through strength—and consequences. His administration isn’t willing to be played by actors like Putin or distracted by the empty platitudes of global summits. This is about national interest, not international theater.
It’s also no coincidence that as Trump lays down deadlines, Congress is moving forward on a sanctions package aimed at tightening the screws on those still doing energy business with Russia. That includes potential secondary sanctions on nations like Brazil—another country cozying up to Moscow under increasingly socialist leadership. If passed, it would finally give teeth to the U.S. stance on energy warfare—a tool sorely lacking in the Biden administration’s playbook.
But back in Moscow, Medvedev fired one last, bizarre rhetorical shot—again via social media.
“About Trump’s threats against me in his personal network Truth, which he banned from operating in our country. If some words of the former Russian president cause such a nervous reaction in the entire, formidable US president, then Russia is right in everything and will continue to go its own way. And about the ‘dead economy’ of India and Russia and ‘entering dangerous territory’ — well, let him remember his favorite films about the ‘walking dead,’ as well as how dangerous a ‘dead hand’ that does not exist in nature can be. 😂”
That “dead hand” reference, for the uninitiated, is Russia’s Cold War-era automatic nuclear launch system—an unsubtle threat cloaked in sarcasm.
But here’s what matters: the bully routine that worked on Western bureaucrats and globalist diplomats won’t work on Trump. Putin may have thought he could wait out the pressure, slow-walk ceasefire talks, and let India and China keep his war effort afloat.
Instead, he’s now facing a U.S. leader willing to hit back—economically, diplomatically, and publicly.
Trump spent years trying to find a common-sense resolution to the conflict, even offering to help Ukraine broker peace. But when patience is repaid with taunts and threats, especially from those propping up a brutal invasion, it stops being diplomacy—and starts being deterrence.
Medvedev’s mistake was assuming Trump still had an interest in appeasement. What he’s about to discover is that Trump’s America doesn’t bend—it holds the line.
I’m not sure that Putin is in charge. I can’t begin to understand what’s going on with Ukraine. Of course, Lindsey Graham has to put his 2 cents in!! He should have been arrested for treason for going to Ukraine and creating tension there,who sent him there?
I’m not sure that Putin is in charge. I can’t begin to understand what’s going on with Ukraine. Of course, Lindsey Graham has to put his 2 cents in!! He should have been arrested for treason for going to Ukraine and creating tension there,who sent him there?