By Andrew Osborn and Dmitry Antonov
MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected the central arguments for U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetorical U-turn on the war in Ukraine, saying it would provide the U.S. with “real information” on what was happening on the battlefield.
In an abrupt rhetorical shift in Ukraine’s favour, Trump said on Tuesday he believed that Kyiv could recapture all of its land taken by Russia – which controls around one-fifth of the country – and that it should act now with Moscow facing “big” economic problems.
The Kremlin countered that the Russian economy was stable, despite some problems caused by sanctions, and that Russian forces’ slow but steady advance in Ukraine was part of a deliberate strategy, with Kyiv, not Moscow, on the back foot.
“As far as we understand, President Trump’s statements were made after communicating with (Ukrainian President) Zelenskiy and, apparently, under the influence of a vision set out by Zelenskiy. This vision contrasts sharply with our understanding of the current state of affairs,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“The fact that Ukraine is being encouraged in every possible way to continue hostilities and the argument that Ukraine can win something back is, in our view, a mistaken argument… The dynamics on the front lines speak for themselves,” he said.
Though Russia has continued to grind forwards in many areas, it has not made a major breakthrough in Ukraine for some time.
RUSSIA REJECTS TRUMP’S ‘PAPER TIGER’ COMMENT
Peskov bridled at Trump’s description of Russia as a “paper tiger”.
Russia was more associated with a bear than a tiger and paper bears didn’t exist, Peskov told the RBC radio station.
Some Russian nationalists saw Trump’s flip-flop as a sign he was washing his hands of the war in Ukraine after his unsuccessful attempts to broker a quick peace deal, noting he had not promised any more U.S. help to Kyiv but had rather placed the onus on Ukraine and the European Union.
“Yes, Trump suddenly told the world about his love for Ukraine,” said Konstantin Malofeyev, an ultra-nationalist tycoon and political influencer.
“But the main point… is that the U.S. is washing its hands of the matter. The European Union will pay for everything. To put it even more simply: Trump has sent Ukraine to fight against Russia alongside Europe while buying weapons from the U.S.”
LAVROV TO SET OUT RUSSIA’S VIEW TO RUBIO
Peskov said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later on Wednesday and provide “real information” to Washington about the state of affairs in Ukraine.
Peskov said Russia’s incremental advances in Ukraine were the result of what he called a well thought-out strategy.
“We are going forward very carefully to minimise losses and so as not to destroy our offensive potential,” he said.
Western military analysts attribute the lack of any recent Russian breakthrough to a determined and resourceful Ukrainian defence and the nature of drone warfare, with both sides worn down by more than 3-1/2 years of war.
Former President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said Trump had “slipped into an alternate reality” and predicted he would U-turn again.
“The main thing is to keep flipping his position 180 degrees on every possible issue. That’s how you successfully run a state through social media,” said Medvedev.
Margarita Simonyan, one of Russia’s top state media executives, likened Trump to a tarot card reader promising his client – Ukraine – the impossible when he spoke of Kyiv being able to retake territory.
“Trump debuts as the tarot card reader telling the thrice-divorced lady that she is going to meet that billionaire prince after all, as long as she buys the magic crystals,” Simonyan wrote on X.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn and Dmitry Antonov in Moscow; Additional reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Hugh Lawson)
