Trump to cut 50-day Ukraine ceasefire deadline as Russian strikes continue
The US president said he was 'very disappointed' with Vladimir Putin, criticising the Russian president's decision to continue air strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine.
Speaking alongside Mr Starmer outside his hotel in Turnberry, South Ayrshire, Mr Trump said: 'We thought we had it settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever.
'You have bodies lying all over the street, and I say that's not the way to do it. So we'll see what happens with that.'
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump in South Ayrshire (Chris Furlong/PA)
Earlier this month, Mr Trump threatened to impose 'very severe' tariffs on Russia if Mr Putin did not agree a ceasefire within 50 days, with the deadline due to expire on September 2.
But on Monday, he said he would 'reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number', adding: 'I think I already know the answer, what's going to happen.'
Efforts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine are expected to feature on the agenda for Mr Starmer's meeting with Mr Trump on Monday, along with the situation in Gaza and progress on implementing the UK-US trade deal.
Last week, Downing Street said both men were 'set to talk about their shared desire to bring an end to the barbaric war' and 'reflect on progress in their 50-day drive to arm Ukraine and force Putin to the negotiating table'.
Meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine continues, with Russian drone and missile strikes hitting the country's north-eastern Sumy region on Sunday, wounding four people.
Russian officials also claimed to have shot down 150 Ukrainian drones, with one person killed and three others injured near St Petersburg.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
6 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Three die as Ukraine and Russia exchange drone attacks
Ukrainian drone attacks overnight killed three people, Russian officials said on Saturday. Russia's defence ministry said air defences intercepted or destroyed 112 drones across eight Russian regions and the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. A drone attack on the Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine, killed one person, acting governor Yuri Slyusar said. Further from the front line, a woman was killed and two other people wounded in a drone strike on business premises in the Penza region, according to regional governor Oleg Melnichenko. Emergency workers inspect a damaged car close to the residential house that was destroyed by a Russian missile on Thursday (Efrem Lukatsky/AP) In the Samara region, falling drone debris sparked a fire that killed an elderly resident, regional governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched 53 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday. It said that air defences shot down or jammed 45 drones. Eleven people were wounded in an overnight drone strike on the Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Saturday. The reciprocal drone strikes followed a day of mourning in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday, after a Russian drone and missile attack killed 31 people, including five children, and wounded more than 150. The continued attacks come after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a shorter deadline – August 8 – for peace efforts to make progress. Trump said on Thursday that special envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made.
Irish Independent
7 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Trump fire official overseeing jobs data after dismal employment report
Mr Trump said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labour Statistics who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be sacked (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. 'I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.' Trump later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' The charge that the data was faked is an explosive one that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the U.S. government's economic data, which has long been seen as the 'gold standard' of economic measurement globally. Economists and Wall Street investors have for decades generally accepted the data as free from political bias. Mr Trump said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labour Statistics who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be sacked (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) Today's news in 90 Seconds - Saturday, August 2 Trump's move to fire McEntarfer represented another extraordinary assertion of presidential power. He has wielded the authority of the White House to try to control the world's international trade system, media companies, America's top universities and Congress' constitutional power of the purse, among other institutions. McEntarfer's firing was roundly condemned by a group that included two former BLS commissioners, including William Beach, who was appointed by Trump to the position. They particularly objected to the charge that the data was altered for political reasons. 'This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers,' the statement from the group, the Friends of BLS, said. In addition to Beach, the statement was signed by Erica Groshen, BLS commissioner under former President Barack Obama. 'Firing the Commissioner ... when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions, and all government statistics,' Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said on X. 'I can't stress how damaging this is.' After Trump's initial post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. 'I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Trump's tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president's tariffs. 'What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger,' Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Friday speech. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her post 86-8, with now Vice President JD Vance among the yea votes. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from a previously revised 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%. 'No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,' Trump wrote. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes.' Trump has not always been so suspicious of the monthly jobs report and responded enthusiastically after the initial May figures came out on June 6, when it was initially reported that the economy added 139,000 jobs. 'GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG!' Trump posted at the time. That estimate was later revised down to 125,000 jobs, prior to the most recent revision down to just 19,000. During the 2016 campaign, Trump was more critical: He often attacked the jobs figures as they showed the unemployment rate steadily declining while Obama was still president, only to immediately switch to praising the data once he was in office, as steady job gains continued. The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent U.S. market indexes about 1.5pc lower on Friday. The revisions to the May and June numbers were quite large and surprising to many economists. At the same time, every monthly jobs report includes revisions to the prior two months' figures. Those revisions occur as the government receives more responses from businesses to its survey, which helps provide a more complete picture of employment trends each month. In the past decade, companies have taken longer to respond, which may have contributed to larger monthly revisions. The proportion of companies responding to the surveys has also fallen steadily over the past 10 years, but the survey still gets responses from roughly 200,000 business locations, which can be independent companies or franchises of larger chains. The monthly jobs report has long been closely guarded within the BLS, with early copies held in safes under lock and key to prevent any leaks or early dissemination.
Irish Independent
7 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Three die as Ukraine and Russia exchange drone attacks
Russia's defence ministry said air defences intercepted or destroyed 112 drones across eight Russian regions and the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. A drone attack on the Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine, killed one person, acting governor Yuri Slyusar said. Further from the front line, a woman was killed and two other people wounded in a drone strike on business premises in the Penza region, according to regional governor Oleg Melnichenko. In the Samara region, falling drone debris sparked a fire that killed an elderly resident, regional governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched 53 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday. It said that air defences shot down or jammed 45 drones. Eleven people were wounded in an overnight drone strike on the Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Saturday. The reciprocal drone strikes followed a day of mourning in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday, after a Russian drone and missile attack killed 31 people, including five children, and wounded more than 150. The continued attacks come after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a shorter deadline - August 8 - for peace efforts to make progress. Trump said on Thursday that special envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made.
