Trump’s Peace Envoy Is at It Again, U.S. Sanctions Are Kicking In, Royal Scandals

Jeffrey Epstein is getting all the headlines these days, but America’s problem with sex trafficking is orders of magnitude bigger than what that man did. And it is growing more pervasive all the time. As Andrew Miiller’s feature story this morning shows, the Trump administration is fighting to curb the practice and end this unthinkable oppression and perversion.

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Trump’s peace envoy is at it again: United States President Donald Trump wants so badly to end the Ukraine war. And he still cherishes the notion that Russian President Vladimir Putin can be talked into simply calling off his war hounds.

Trump’s latest effort is to dispatch peace envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow once more—his fifth visit to Putin this term. Witkoff reportedly met with the Russian president for three hours in what Reuters called “a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the 3½-year war.”

Don’t hold your breath.

In recent months, President Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin because after every “perfect phone call” with him, Putin intensified his murderous war in Ukraine.

Last month, Trump threatened secondary sanctions on nations, including India and China, that import Russian oil and thus help keep the war going. At first he gave Putin 50 days to agree to a ceasefire. But seeing no sign that Putin was moved by the threat, he shrank the deadline to 10 days. That would be this Friday, August 8.

Sending Witkoff, then, was his last-ditch effort to change Putin’s monstrous heart before these new sanctions kick in.

The idea that Putin can be appeased through dialogue has always been absurd. Of course, Putin is just as willing to hold talks as Adolf Hitler was in his day. He has been playing U.S. leaders for decades. But mere words won’t change his deadly ambitions.

Meanwhile, sanctions are kicking in: Plan B to Witkoff’s sweet talk is changing Putin’s mind through economic pressure. President Trump did announce today that India’s tariff rate will rise to 50 percent.

Yesterday, Trump had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A Ukrainian source told Axios that “Zelenskyy and Trump agreed during the call that targeting Russian oil sales to India, China and other countries could create the economic pressure needed to change Putin’s mindset about the war.”

On paper, India is a proud democracy and a military partner of the U.S. It is also one of the most important customers of Russian oil, especially now that Europe is weaning itself off Russian fossil fuels.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Trump’s tariff threat is “unjustifiable and unreasonable.” “Like any major economy,” its statement read, “India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”

Yesterday, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval arrived in Moscow for what the Economic Times called “a high-level visit aimed at strengthening defense and energy ties with Russia.” The meeting was already scheduled. But in light of Trump’s threats, it looks like India is choosing a side.

For now, it looks like if forced to choose between the U.S. and Russia, India will choose Russia. Trump’s sanctions may force India to choose.

This is a trend Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry forecast back when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In our May-June 2022 issue, he wrote:

China and India are increasing their support for Russia, even as it wages a war of aggression, the largest conventional military attack since World War II! … Joe Biden and even some good analysts have said that a revived Russian empire would pose a danger to China and India, and therefore those nations will not support it. But they fail to recognize that India and especially China regard the West as a far greater enemy. And they are ignorant of the prophecies of the Bible.

The prophecies Mr. Flurry was referring to include Revelation 16:12, which mentions an end-time bloc called the “kings of the east,” destined to play a monumental role in world affairs. Other passages like Ezekiel 38 show Russia, China and India will be key players in this alliance.

President Trump’s actions in Ukraine could help build this alliance like never before. Our free booklet Russia and China in Prophecy explains.

Royal scandals: Britain’s royal family continues to provide gossipy grist for tabloids. But the Trumpet’s interest in the royals goes deep because of the role they play in Bible prophecy. Gerald Flurry’s “The Fall of the British Royal Family” from our September 2017 issue explains.

A new book is about to be released, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. It paints a grim picture of how low the royals’ morals have sunk, particularly with Prince Andrew. The book details shocking marital infidelities by Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, highlighting Sarah’s publicized scandals, such as her 1992 photographed encounter with John Bryan. It describes their marriage’s breakdown, with Andrew reportedly accepting Sarah’s affairs while dining alone. The book portrays their fall from grace due to personal flaws and exploitation of royal privilege.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry walked away from his African youth charity after a black woman accused the staff of racism. An investigation found “no evidence” of “widespread or systemic bullying or harassment.” The charity commission criticized Harry for harming the charity by abandoning it.

God intended the British crown to set a sterling moral example. In recent decades it has done the opposite. It is a case study in the moral rot affecting all of Britain. Mr. Flurry’s article shows God’s response to this lamentable decline.

IN OTHER NEWS

Is Russia starting a new arms race? On Monday, Russia announced it would no longer abide by its self-imposed moratorium on deploying ground-based intermediate-range and short-range missiles, previously restricted under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Russia’s Foreign Ministry claims this was prompted by U.S. and NATO actions, citing “deliberate steps taken by the United States” to counter Russian power. Bible prophecy says nothing about Russia starting a nuclear war with America. But events like this show that, as Mr. Flurry wrote for our May-June print issue of this year, the “threat of nuclear World War III” is “heightening.”

War drums in the Balkans: Bosnia and Herzegovina’s election authority removed Milorad Dodik from his role as president of Republika Srpska, a Serb-majority region that covers roughly half of Bosnia’s territory. Dodik has repeatedly advocated for greater autonomy or outright independence for Srpska, stoking fears of secession. A court found him guilty of undermining the country’s constitutional order, sentencing him to one year in prison and banning him from politics for six years. Dodik has rejected the ruling as politically motivated, claiming it targets Srpska’s sovereignty. He most likely won’t back down, meaning we could see a conflict that sparks another civil war in Bosnia. Mr. Flurry’s booklet Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans shows the prophetic importance of this part of Europe.