Trump gives Putin two-week ceasefire DEADLINE as tyrant masses 50k troops at border – but will new talks stop bloodbath?
A FRUSTRATED Donald Trump has issued Vladimir Putin a two-week deadline for a ceasefire - warning of a different response if Putin is "tapping us along".
The US president's ultimatum comes as Russia launches its deadliest strikes yet on Ukraine, with
Kyiv
fearing Moscow is
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Donald Trump has given Putin a two-week ceasefire deadline
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A Ukrainian firefighter at the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on the Sumy region
Credit: Reuters
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Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday: 'I'm very disappointed at what happened a couple of nights now where people were killed in the middle of what you would call a negotiation."
He added: 'When I see rockets being shot into cities, that's no good. We're not going to allow it.'
When asked if Putin really wants to end the war, Trump replied: "I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks.
"Within two weeks. We're gonna find out whether or not (Putin is) tapping us along or not.
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"And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently."
The US president's comments came just minutes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed a second round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.
He said the proposed talks on June 2 would be a continuation of negotiations.
Kyiv has said it's "not opposed" to meetings.
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The White House has ramped up its efforts to push for a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump and Putin recently had a
future
peace agreement".
Trump 'not happy' with Putin after war's biggest air attack on Ukraine killing 13 as Don considers sanctions on Russia
The White House has been accused of appeasing
Moscow
- most notably when Trump shifted the focus from the 30-day ceasefire mentioned in the call and later opted for a summit with Putin.
But the US has rejected these claims, pointing out that all sanctions remain in force against Russia.
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The Kremlin has not yet sent a memorandum, claiming it's currently drafting its version and that there cannot be a fixed deadline for ceasefire details to be agreed.
Meanwhile, over the past few days, the US president has lashed out at his Russian counterpart on social media.
He said on Tuesday that Putin has gone "absolutely crazy" and is "playing with fire" after Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine.
Trump added that "lots of bad things" would have happened to Russia if it were not for his involvement.
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He broke his silence on Sunday after
Russian strikes in Kyiv killed at least 13 people and injured dozens more.
alongside the border of Kharkiv
, for an offensive in the eastern region of Sumy, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that Putin's forces had snatched another four villages in Ukraine's Sumy region.
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Sumy governor Oleh Hryhorov wrote in a post: "The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called buffer zone".
Hryhorov said the villages of Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka and Zhuravka had been overrun and the resident evacuated.
In response, Ukraine launched a
Zelensky has accused Moscow of delaying the peace process and claimed Ukrainian intelligence shows
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According to top Russian officials, Putin wants a
The eastward expansion refers to Ukraine,
Georgia
,
Moldova
and other former Soviet republics.
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