The Kremlin issued a response after President Donald Trump changed his tune regarding Moscow and the war in Ukraine. After months of suggesting that Kyiv would have to give up land for peace, Trump now says Ukraine can reclaim all its land.
The president sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. There, he called for NATO to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate alliance airspace.
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Later on Truth Social, Trump also declared that Ukraine, backed by Europe, “is in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form.”
He said Russia has been fighting aimlessly in a war that should have taken “less than a week to win.”
He called Russia a “paper tiger,” saying the war is bleeding Moscow dry.
Trump cited the change of policy to “getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation.”
He said he saw the economic trouble the war is causing in Russia, leading him to believe Ukraine can take its land back.
The comments followed Trump’s address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. While speaking, he urged European countries to stop buying oil from Russia.
Russia’s response
Following Trump’s statement and address, the Kremlin issued a rebuttal, stating that such an idea is “deeply mistaken.” The Kremlin stated that its invasion was “not an aimless war.” It added that normalizing relations with Washington were progressing much more slowly than it had hoped.
“Russia is in no way a tiger. Still, Russia is more compared with a bear. There are no paper bears,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
Peskov suggested that Trump’s latest demand for European countries to stop buying oil is tied to his desire to boost American oil sales.
“Trump has never concealed that he seeks to ensure the economic interests of the United States and to ensure that other countries buy oil and gas from Washington,” Peskov told Russian radio station RBC.
The Kremlin and Peskov are not the only ones speaking out. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev also commented on Trump’s new position. He said Trump had been given a dose of “alternative reality.”
European response
Contrary to Russia, European leaders have backed Trump’s latest stance, with many agreeing that Ukraine can take back its land.
Secretary General of Estonia’s Foreign Ministry, Jonatan Vseviov, said, “We agree. Ukraine is indeed in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Estonian Parliament, Marko Mihkelson, called Trump’s change of tune an “incredible turnaround.” In a post on X, he said that now actions should follow.
