Trump gave Putin a ‘two-week’ deadline to consider peace in Ukraine. Instead, Russia just launched more drones.

 

Trump's Deadline Passes as Russia Escalates Brutal Assaults on Ukraine

A self-imposed two-week deadline by President Donald Trump to gauge Russia’s willingness for peace in Ukraine has quietly expired—without any Russian de-escalation and with no rebuke from the White House. Instead, the period saw a spike in brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

“We’ll know soon—maybe in a week and a half, two weeks,” Trump told reporters on May 28 when asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin was serious about ending the war.

That statement came just 48 hours after Russia launched what was then the largest drone assault of the war, deploying over 350 Iranian-made Shahed drones. Since then, Moscow has shattered that record twice: first on June 1, unleashing 472 drones, and again on June 9, with an unprecedented 479 drones and 20 missiles hitting Ukrainian cities.

The pace of attacks is alarming. In March 2025, Russia launched 4,198 drones—the highest monthly total of the war so far. But if the current tempo continues, June could see close to 7,000 drones launched.

“This is psychological warfare, designed to exhaust and terrify civilians while applying pressure on Ukraine’s leadership,” said Rodion Rozhkovskiy, co-founder of Liveuamap, speaking with the Kyiv Independent.

Despite suggesting that new sanctions could follow if Moscow escalated further, Trump has taken no action. On the contrary, during a June 6 interview, he blamed Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb—an airstrike on Russian bomber aircraft—as the reason behind Russia's intensified bombing. “They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them,” Trump said.

In contrast to Russia’s attacks on residential areas, Operation Spiderweb exclusively targeted military assets, making Russia’s retaliatory strikes on civilian zones a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

In a surprising twist, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a rare gesture on June 12, issuing a statement recognizing Russia Day.

“On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the Russian people on Russia Day,” Rubio said. “The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people in their pursuit of a better future.”

But for many in Ukraine, that future looks grim. “Every air raid brings a wave of paralyzing fear,” said 20-year-old Oleksandra Pshenychna from Kyiv. “You feel nothing but hopelessness and rage at those launching these drones into our homes, landmarks, and public spaces.”

Russia’s dismissive attitude toward Trump’s deadlines is nothing new. In fact, data shows the Kremlin has stepped up its drone warfare campaign under Trump more aggressively than it did during Joe Biden’s presidency—even after Trump repeatedly vowed to end the war within 24 hours, later revising that promise to 100 days. As of now, Trump has been in office for 144 days.

His peace push has included shuttle diplomacy, significant pressure on Kyiv, and a conspicuous unwillingness to confront Moscow. Meanwhile, Russia has continued its daily bombardments, seemingly timing major strikes to coincide with diplomatic efforts.

“Every time there’s a major event in the peace process, we get hit harder,” said Kharkiv resident Mykola Zhydkov. “On June 10, there was a POW exchange. That night, Kharkiv was devastated by airstrikes.”

Trump’s silence in the face of Russia’s intensifying violence appears to have emboldened Moscow. According to Rozhkovskiy, the only thing holding Russia back from even larger attacks is drone supply—if they had more, they'd use them.

Russian drone production is booming, fueled by imported components—mainly from China—and cheap labor sourced from abroad, including African nations.

Ukrainian intelligence officials warn that Russia is constructing new drone launch facilities and will soon have the capacity to deploy over 500 long-range drones each night. With no U.S. action or deterrent, the Kremlin’s war machine shows no signs of slowing down.