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.

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.

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

New developments Tuesday reinforced the idea that President Donald Trump has significantly shifted his view of the Ukraine war.

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.

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.”

Trump tells the that he trusts "almost no-one" in a wide-ranging phone call on the war in Ukraine, Nato and the UK.

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.

“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.”

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not ready for compromises” to end his brutal war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Post in an exclusive interview on Wednesday — but President Trump has the power to bring him to his knees by speeding up tough sanctions that could cause a “social explosion” in Russia.