US President Donald Trump has spoken about his wife, First Lady Melania Trump's reaction when he speaks about Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

President Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have given Vladimir Putin something to help focus his mind. The July 14 announcement of a new NATO-backed weapons corridor into Ukraine, routed through European allies and structured around arms sales rather than grants, ends for now the prospect of a wholesale American abandonment of Ukraine.

Trump’s threat isn’t just non-credible – the positive market reaction in Russia suggests it is a gift for Moscow. The 50-day ultimatum is seen not as a deadline but as a reprieve, meaning nearly two months of guaranteed inaction from the US.

The Russians have fired thousands of Iranian-designed, 11-foot-long Shahed drones into Ukraine, while the Ukrainians have built their own long-range drones that can attack targets over 700 miles away.

Russia has launched overnight attacks on four Ukrainian cities, injuring at least 15 people and targeting energy infrastructure.

It is to be seen if Putin has yet crossed Trump’s “red line” and if Washington is willing to unleash more painful sanctions on Russia. One thing is clear – Moscow’s continued defiance and rogue activities in its neighbourhoods have awakened the Trump administration,

President Biden in November 2024, to the chagrin of some Trump allies, had allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS, leading the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. to accuse him of trying to “get World War Three going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.”

President Donald Trump is making a surprising pivot on the war in Ukraine, shifting positions on weapon sales and sanctions in a way that makes him look more like his predecessor Joe Biden and less like a lackey of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Days after criticizing his administration for closing the Epstein case, conservative personalities suddenly don't want to talk about it anymore.

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