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 Trump told reporters that Ukraine should not target Moscow following a report that he advised Ukraine to ramp up its attacks.

Officials within the Ukrainian Government have reportedly defied President Donald Trump and attacked several targets close to the Russian capital of Moscow and St. Petersburg. It was announced Thursday by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin that Russian air defenses had shot down three drones approaching the capital between 2-3 a.

Trump wanted to "make them feel the pain," as he put it on the July 4 call, the Financial Times reported, and force Russia into peace negotiations. Zelensky said Ukraine could hit the cities if the U.S. supplied the weapons, per the Post.

Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine and threatened "biting" secondary tariffs of 100% on the buyers of Russian exports unless there is a peace deal in 50 days.

The president’s call for Ukraine to avoid hitting Moscow continued his pattern of swinging between pressure on both sides to end the war and underscored the uncertainties about his strategy.

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.

The US president, Donald Trump, recently announced that Russia had 50 days to end its war in Ukraine. Otherwise it would face comprehensive secondary sanctions targeting countries that continued trading with Moscow.

Ukraine’s capacity to strike Russia’s major cities has come under the spotlight since President Trump asked if Kyiv could do so.

India's Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri asserts the nation's readiness to handle potential disruptions in Russian oil imports, even with possible sanctions from the US and NATO. Alternative suppliers like Guyana,

The West is waging a full-scale war against Russia, and Moscow should respond in full, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said.Mr Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council,