'Random phrase generator' — Trump remarks on Ukraine spark backlash in Russia
U.S. President Donald Trump's comments on Sept. 23 that Ukraine could retake all Russian-occupied territories triggered an immediate wave of criticism from Russian officials and state propagandists.
Speaking after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said that "Ukraine, with the support of the EU, is in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back."
"Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years," he said. "This does not distinguish Russia; in fact, it very much makes them look like 'a paper tiger.'"
The remarks mark a sharp reversal in Trump's stance, coming just a month after he hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and pledged to mediate a peace deal along the current front line.
Russian officials sought to downplay Trump's remarks while mocking the U.S. leader.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov brushed aside the "paper tiger" jab, adding that Trump's shift followed his talks with Zelensky and was driven by "business interests."
"Russia is by no means a tiger. After all, Russia is more commonly associated with a bear. There is no such thing as a 'paper bear,' and Russia is a real bear," Peskov said.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who already had a public spat with Trump and is known for his provocative outbursts, said the U.S. leader had "ended up in an alternate reality."
"After meeting with the clowns from Kyiv and Paris, he published a vivid post. In the new reality, everything is different. Kyiv is winning, Russia is torn to shreds," Medvedev said.
The Russian Security Council deputy chairman added that Trump would "return" from that "parallel reality" because "he always returns" and might even call on Ukraine "to sign a surrender agreement."
Russian lawmaker Oleg Matveychev dismissed Trump's words as meaningless.
"It's a random number generator, a random phrase generator. And there's been a saying that Trump says exactly what the last person in his office told him to say," he said.
"Do you really think he'll say something momentous? Or will his words change anything? Nothing depends on them, nothing will change."
Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian Parliament's International Affairs Committee, criticized Trump's stance, suggesting that his statements were full of contradictions.
"Trump made a series of contradictory statements about Russia's lack of economic development and the alleged futility of the war," he said. "This is an extremely dangerous misconception."
Slutsky noted that Trump has already shifted his stance several times.
Speaking on Russian state television, Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov used his show to attack Trump's statements, accusing Ukraine and its allies of deceiving the U.S. president.
Solovyov claimed that Zelensky aligns with European leaders, who allegedly "oppose the U.S. president," using homophobic slurs to insult EU officials.
"There is the position of the Russian state, which has been based on U.N. Security Council decisions. And then there are these (European) hysterical reactions directed against Donald Trump," he said.
The unusually sharp reactions from Moscow show the sensitivity of Trump's remarks.
Russian officials tend to be cautious in public statements due to the controlled political environment, which demands they avoid missteps that could lead to consequences.
The U.S. president's reaction followed Moscow's obstruction of his peace process, including rejecting a ceasefire and declining to participate in meaningful negotiations.
Trump promised to facilitate a direct meeting between Zelensky and the Kremlin leader.
Those efforts quickly faltered when Putin invited Zelensky to Moscow, a proposal Kyiv dismissed as "impossible" while Ukraine remained under Russian missile attacks.
Zelensky reiterated his readiness to meet Putin only on neutral ground, an offer Moscow has consistently rejected while continuing to push maximalist demands.
