THE Kremlin today furiously responded to Trump’s sudden backing of a total Ukraine victory – insisting the US president was “deeply mistaken” and that Russia is a “real bear” rather than a “paper tiger”.
The Kremlin said it had “no choice” but to continue the conflict in Ukraine after Trump called the country a “paper tiger”.
Shutterstock EditorialTrump spoke during the first day of High-Level Week at UNGA80.[/caption]
APRussian President Vladimir Putin with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov[/caption]
EPATrump (Right) and Volodymyr Zelensky (Left) meeting at the United Nations yesterday[/caption]
The comments have come after Trump fully backed Ukraine’s ability to reclaim all lost territory.
In Trump’s speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, he insulted Putin’s nation, calling it a “paper tiger” with a failing economy.
The shock backflip comes after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day.
The Don further said Ukraine could win back “every inch” of its territory from Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hit back at Trump’s claims that the two nations had been “fighting aimlessly for three and a half years”.
“We are continuing our special military operation to ensure our interests and achieve the goals [set by Putin]”, Peskov said in a radio interview.
“We are doing this for both the present and the future of our country.
“For many generations to come. Therefore we have no alternative.”
In a major pivot from his previous stance on the three-and-a-half-year conflict, Trump also dismissed Russia’s military strength and mocked its inability to beat Ukraine in just a few days.
Posting on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said Ukraine “may be able to take back their country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that”.
The comments come after Trump displayed visible frustration at Putin’s refusal to end the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Peskov hit back at Trump’s other claims, particularly those levelled at the Russian economy.
“The phrase ‘paper tiger’ was used in relation to our economy,” he said.
“Russia is more associated with a bear. And paper bears don’t exist.
“Russia is a real bear.”
Peskov did, however, admit that the Russian economy had faced “tensions”.
“Yes Russia is experiencing tensions and problems in various sectors of the economy,” he said.
The challenges have arrived, slowing the growth of the Russian economy after two years of rapid growth.
On Wednesday, Moscow’s finance ministry proposed raising sales tax from 2026 to help cover the costs of the continuing war.
The offensive has so far pushed the Russian budget into a deficit.
Kyiv and Washington had made efforts to cut off revenues from Moscow’s energy exports, in an attempt to further squeeze the Kremlin.
Peskov said Trump’s return to the White House has yielded “close to zero” results in strengthening the relationship between the two nations.
These comments come despite the multiple phone calls between Putin and Trump as well as the summit meeting in Alaska in August.
On the other hand, Zelensky has welcomed Trump’s change of position, calling it a “big shift”.
It remains unclear if the US leader will follow through with any concrete steps, including sanctions that Kyiv has been strongly lobbying for.
Ukrainians on the ground remain doubtful of the US president.
“It’s just another opinion from Trump, which changes every hour,” Bogdan Tkachuk, 33, told AFP.
Svitlana Fetisova, whose son died at the front, defending Ukraine against Russia, said she would want to see “more help, more action, not just words”.
“Ukraine is suffering,” she said.
“I really want to believe that this is true and that finally the country responsible for the balance of peace in the world will turn to us.”
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