SOONER, BUT NOT NOW: During his meetings with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, President Donald Trump again expressed his deep disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he was rescinding his 50-day deadline for Putin to agree to a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. “I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer, what’s going to happen.”
“There’s no reason to wait. If you know what the answer’s going to be, why wait?” Trump told reporters, and then announced he would wait another 10 days before triggering so-called secondary sanctions. Or maybe 12 days. He hasn’t decided. “I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump said. “I want to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”
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Trump said on four, or maybe five, separate occasions (he couldn’t quite recall), he thought he had a deal with Putin, only to find he’d been snookered. “We thought we had that 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.”
“I’m disappointed in President Putin, very disappointed in him,” Trump said. “I thought he would want to end this thing quickly. I really felt it was going to end. But every time I think it’s going to end, he kills people.”
“I don’t want to do that to Russia. I love the Russian people. They’re great people. I don’t want to do that to Russia. But they’re losing a lot of Russians. They’ve lost a million Russians, and that’s the sons and daughters of Russian families. They leave the house, they go, ‘Bye, mom. Bye, dad,’ and then they get blown away,” Trump said.
“He’s got to make a deal. Too many people are dying,” Trump said, while appearing to rule out further discussions with Putin. “I’m not so interested in talking anymore.”
TRUMP CUTS PUTIN’S 50-DAY DEADLINE FOR PEACE WITH UKRAINE
ZELENSKY: ‘AN EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT STATEMENT’: So far, there has been no official response from Russia, other than the continued attack on civilian targets in Ukrainian cities, and the usual defiant post on X by former president Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the country’s Security Council. “Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10 … Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.”
Overnight, a Russian missile hit a hospital in the city of Kamyanske. “Three people were killed in the attack, including a pregnant woman. Her name was Diana. She was only 23 years old,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a post on X. Zelensky said Russia also struck a penal colony in Zaporizhzhia. “It was a deliberate strike, intentional, not accidental. The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians in that facility,” he said.
“Every night there are strikes, constant Russian attempts to hurt Ukraine,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “Today, there was an extremely significant statement by President Trump. And it is true: it is Russia who is doing everything to undermine peace efforts and drag out this war.”
“Very important words were spoken by President Trump about how the Russian leadership is wasting the world’s time by talking about peace while simultaneously killing people,” Zelensky said on X. “In just one past day, when everyone once again felt a sense of hope that the killing might stop, the Russian army killed 22 people in Ukraine … Another 85 people were wounded. Seventy-three Ukrainian cities and villages came under Russian attack.”
“All of this shows that Moscow deserves very harsh, truly painful, and therefore just and effective sanctions pressure. They must be compelled to stop the killing and make peace,” Zelensky said. “Ukraine welcomes President Trump’s efforts and his determination to achieve peace.”
RUSSIA LAUNCHES DRONE AND BALLISTIC MISSILE STRIKE ON UKRAINIAN PRISON AND MEDICAL FACILITY
PUTIN STILL ‘PLAYING FOR TIME’: While there’s been no formal statement, Russian state-controlled media is generally scoffing at Trump’s latest ultimatum, according to Steve Rosenberg, a BBC correspondent in Moscow who reports daily on what Russians are reading in their newspapers.
“It would be naive to think Moscow would halt its advance in the new territories that are now part of Russia until their complete liberation,” said one daily newspaper. Another paper quotes a member of the Presidential Relations Council as saying, “The ultimatum itself was not taken seriously. Neither 50 days, nor 10-12 days.”
A Russian senator tells the paper, “Moscow has no intention of caving to pressure … Ultimatums are usually presented to the losing side, which Russia is not. On the contrary we are winning.”
“Too many innocent lives are at stake for President Trump to let Putin continue playing him for time. This shorter deadline is a positive step, but long overdue,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a statement. “The President needs to match his words with real action and not let Putin cross yet another red line.”
“At the same time we must continue to press forward in Congress on bipartisan legislation to impose punishing sanctions on the Kremlin and ensure Ukraine has the support it needs to finally bring Putin to the negotiating table.”
EPSTEIN ISLAND, PUTIN, AND GAZA HUNGER: SIX TAKEAWAYS FROM TRUMP’S MEETING WITH KEIR STARMER
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HAPPENING TODAY: The Senate Armed Services Committee is getting a classified briefing this morning on Operation Midnight Hammer, the U.S. mission aimed at destroying Iran’s nuclear capability. Senators will be briefed on the latest U.S. intelligence assessment that Iran’s capability to produce a nuclear weapon has likely been set back by a number of years. The closed briefing is set for 9:30 a.m.
TRUMP: GAZA STARVATION ‘REAL … YOU CAN’T FAKE THAT’: While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist that images of emaciated children and Palestinians fighting for food are being manipulated to create a false narrative of starvation in Gaza, President Donald Trump seemed to make a clean break with Netanyahu, declaring he knows starvation when he sees it.
“I mean, some of those kids — that’s real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can’t fake that,” Trump said during his meeting with the U.K. prime minister.
While Israel has announced new steps to get more food aid into the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu continues to deny there is a famine underway. “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,” Netanyahu said Sunday at a Jerusalem conference with Trump’s faith advisor, Paula White.
Trump, on the other hand, is talking about launching a major U.S. effort to feed the famished by helping international aid organizations and establishing what he called “food centers.”
“We’ll be helping with the food, you know. We have a lot of access to food. We’ve got a lot of food ourselves, and we’re going to bring it over there,” Trump said. “We’re going to set up food centers where the people can walk in, and no boundaries. We’re not going to have fences. You know, they see the food from 30, you would say, yards away, and they see the food, it’s all there, but nobody’s at it because they have fences set up that nobody can even get it. It’s crazy.”
“We’re going to be getting some good, strong food. We can save a lot of people,” he said.
TRUMP DISPUTES NETANYAHU’S DISMISSAL OF STARVATION IN GAZA
SENATE ACTS TO FORCE RELEASE OF PHONE NETWORK THREATS: By a unanimous vote, the Senate last night passed a bill that would require the public release of an unclassified 2022 report by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that details vulnerabilities and security lapses in the nation’s telephone network.
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who has been pushing for the release of the report, “U.S. Telecommunications Insecurity 2022,” arguing it is a powerful call to action. “Congress and the American people deserve to read this report. It includes frankly shocking details about national security threats to our country’s phone system that require immediate action,” Wyden said on the Senate floor.
“CISA’s multi-year cover-up of the phone companies’ negligent cybersecurity enabled foreign hackers to perpetrate one of the most serious cases of espionage — ever — against our country,” he said. “Had this report been made public when it was first written in 2022, Congress would have had ample time to require mandatory cybersecurity standards for phone companies, in time to prevent the Salt Typhoon hacks.”
Wyden argued that “years of inaction by phone companies and the federal government” has “enabled foreign governments to repeatedly spy on Americans, threatening U.S. national security,” citing the 2024 hack of several U.S. communications companies, including Verizon and AT&T, by a Chinese government hackers dubbed Salt Typhoon, which tapped the calls of President Trump, Vice President Vance, and scores of other federal officials.
Earlier this year, Wyden placed a hold on Sean Plankey, the nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, until CISA releases the report.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump cuts Putin’s 50-day deadline for peace with Ukraine
Washington Examiner: Russia launches drone and ballistic missile strike on Ukrainian prison and medical facility
Washington Examiner: Trump disputes Netanyahu’s dismissal of starvation in Gaza
Washington Examiner: Two Israeli human rights groups accuse country of genocide in Gaza
Washington Examiner: Vance says Israel needs to ‘do more’ to let humanitarian aid into Gaza
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Israel has only bad options in Gaza
Washington Examiner: Trump boasts Thailand-Cambodia as sixth ‘major war’ he has prevented
Washington Examiner: Taiwan’s progressives reckon with utter failure of ‘Great Recall’ against opposition
Washington Examiner: ICE arrests more than 200 child sex offenders in Houston area under Trump
Washington Examiner: Epstein island, Putin, and Gaza hunger: Six takeaways from Trump’s meeting with Keir Starmer
Washington Examiner: Senate GOP’s spending bill plan runs into bipartisan opposition
Washington Examiner: Hegseth announces Baltic states will meet NATO 5% spending commitment
AP: Russia kills 22 civilians in Ukraine as the Kremlin remains defiant over Trump threats
Reuters: Russia at the gates: How Ukraine defended a strategic city for months
Defense News: Pentagon Unit Seeks Ukraine-Like Conditions for Drone Testing
Wall Street Journal: New Missile for Truck-Based Himars Launchers Has China in Its Sights
AP: Kim Jong Un’s sister rejects outreach by South Korea’s new president
Air & Space Forces Magazine: X-37 Heading Back to Space to Test Laser Comms, GPS Alternative
Aviation Week: US Air Force Confirms Plans to Acquire ERAM-Like Missile
Air & Space Forces Magazine: GPS Jamming Extends to Low-Earth Orbit as Pentagon Races to Bolster Constellation
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Global Strike Command to Grow as B-21 and Other New Systems Come Online
The War Zone: Sig M18 Pistol Restrictions Expand to USAF Air Combat Command Units
DefenseScoop: House Defense Modernization Caucus Pushes Authority and Acquisition Reforms for Fiscal 2026
Task & Purpose: TRICARE Could Soon Cover Dependents Up to 26 with No Extra Fees
THE CALENDAR:
TUESDAY | JULY 29
9:30 a.m. SVC-217, U.S. Capitol — The Senate Armed Services Committee receives a CLOSED briefing on Operation Midnight Hammer. http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
9:30 a.m. — Heritage Foundation discussion: “ICE Pact: The Icebreaker Collaboration Effort and Arctic Security Conversation,” with Joseph Alm, acting assistant Homeland Security secretary for trade and economic security; Brent Sadler, senior research fellow at the Allison Center for National Security; and Wilson Beaver, senior policy adviser at the Allison Center for National Security https://www.heritage.org/defense/event/ice-pact-the-icebreaker
1 p.m — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Threat Politics: Promise and Peril,” with Ryan Hass, director of the Brookings Institution’s China Center; Dominic Tierney, professor at Swarthmore College; Rachel Myrick, associate professor at Duke University; Brett Rosenberg, nonresident scholar at the CEIP American Statecraft Program and author of The Promise and Peril of Threat Politics; Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, director of the CEIP Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program; and Christopher Chivvis, director of the CEIP American Statecraft Program https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/07/threat-politics
WEDNESDAY | JULY 30
9 a.m. 490 L’Enfant Plaza SW — Day one of the National Transportation Safety Board three-day investigative hearing on the Jan. 29 mid-air collision between a PSA Airlines CRJ700 regional jetliner and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport https://www.youtube.com/user/NTSBgov
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “Iran and the 12-Day War: Strategic Fallout and Future Trajectories,” with Arash Azizi, contributing writer, The Atlantic and author of What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom; Holly Dagres, Washington Institute for Near East Policy senior fellow; Siamak Namazi, Iranian-American businessman and former U.S. hostage in Iran; and Alex Vatanka, MEI senior fellow https://www.mei.edu/events/iran-and-12-day-war-strategic-fallout
1 .p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion of a new report, “The Axis of Upheaval: Gauging the Growing Military Cooperation Among Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea,” with Karim Sadjadpour, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace senior fellow; Andrea Kendall-Taylor, director, CNAS Transatlantic Security Program; Richard Fontaine, CNAS CEO; and David McKenzie, CNAS communications director https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-event-new-axis-of-upheaval
3:30 p.m. 301 Russell — McCain Institute discussion: “Post-War Pathway: Principles for U.S.-Russia Relations After Ukraine,” with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY); and Dan Twining, president, International Republican Institute https://www.mccaininstitute.org/resources/events/post-war-pathway
THURSDAY | JULY 31
8 a.m. 7920 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, Virginia — Potomac Officers Club Air and Space Summit, with Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, military deputy to the assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration at U.S. Space Force; Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein; and Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Health Collins; and https://www.potomacofficersclub.com/events/2025-air-and-space-summit/
9 a.m. 490 L’Enfant Plaza SW — Day Two of the National Transportation Safety Board three-day investigative hearing on the Jan. 29 mid-air collision between a PSA Airlines CRJ700 regional jetliner and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport https://www.youtube.com/user/NTSBgov
12 p.m. — RAND Corporation virtual discussion: “Restoring U.S. and Allied Military Power and Influence,” with David Ochmanek, RAND senior international/defense researcher; and Anu Narayanan, associate director of the RAND National Security Research Division https://www.rand.org/events/2025/07/restoring-us-and-allied-military-power
1 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Breaking Out of Quarantine: Wargaming a Chinese Blockade of Taiwan,” with Matthew Cancian, associate professor at the U.S Naval Academy; Eric Heginbotham, principal research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for International Studies; and Mark Cancian, senior adviser, CSIS Defense and Security Department https://www.csis.org/events/breaking-out-quarantine
2:30 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE — Heritage Foundation and Conference of Christian Presidents for Israel discussion: “Peace Through Strength: U.S. Policy on Israel and the Middle East,” with Rev. Johnnie Moore, executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation https://www.heritage.org/middle-east/event/peace-through-strength
FRIDAY | AUGUST 1
9 a.m. — Final day of the National Transportation Safety Board three-day investigative hearing on the Jan. 29 mid-air collision between a PSA Airlines CRJ700 regional jetliner and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport https://www.youtube.com/user/NTSBgov
10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual seminar: “No New Start: Renewing the U.S.-Russian Deal Won’t Solve today’s Nuclear Dilemmas,” with Rick Edelman, counselor, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments; and Frank Miller, principal at the Scowcroft Group https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/no-new-start