US President Donald Trump’s 50-day pause ahead of possible secondary sanctions on Russia gifts the Kremlin a window to exploit the incremental gains of recent weeks in Ukraine’s east.

President Vladimir Putin believes Russia's economy and its military are strong enough to weather any additional Western measures, sources said.

On Monday, Trump said that Russia's failure to reach a negotiated settlement with Ukraine within 50 days would lead to his administration imposing a 100% tariff rate on Russian imports as well as what he called "secondary tariffs" on countries that have continued to do business with Moscow.

It remains to be seen just how lasting and severe President Donald Trump’s turn against Vladimir Putin will be. Trump has criticized the Russian president in unprecedented terms in recent days and signaled he’ll send vital weapons to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sacrificed an estimated 1 million of his soldiers, killed and wounded, in a three-year campaign to crush Ukraine. Now President Donald Trump is betting that his go-to economic weapon — tariffs — can succeed where Ukrainian drones and rockets haven't,

“Putin will not negotiate as a loser,” one of his longtime associates tells TIME by phone from Moscow. “He knows that winners don’t get punished, and if he wins, all of this” — the sanctions, the tariffs — “will go away.”

That included a Monday joint statement from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal calling Trump’s threat of ramped-up economic penalties if Russia doesn’t cut a peace deal in next 50 days “a real executive hammer to drive the parties to the negotiating table.”

President Donald Trump issues Russian President Vladimir Putin a 50-day deadline to end Ukraine war or face 100% tariffs, prompting skepticism from the EU's chief diplomat and Kyiv's mayor over 50-day timeframe.

Melania Trump has highlighted Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine in private conversations, President Trump said on Monday.

Pres. Trump has denied reports that he asked Pres. Zelenskyy to strike deeper into Russia, but said he is increasingly "disappointed" with Putin's ongoing heavy bombing of Ukraine.

President Trump threatens Putin with 100% tariffs if no Ukraine peace deal is reached within 50 days, while confirming arms sales to NATO to support Ukrainian resistance.

President Donald Trump announced this week that the U.S. will send Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine and threatened new tariffs on Russia. Will Vladimir Putin back down? What should Trump's next move be? And what does the future hold for Ukraine? Newsweek contributors Daniel R. DePetris and Dan Perry debate: