MOSCOW: The Kremlin stated on Wednesday that it had no alternative but to continue its military offensive in Ukraine while firmly rejecting US President Donald Trump’s characterisation of Russia as a “paper tiger”.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted that Russia is proceeding with its special military operation to secure its national interests and achieve the goals set by President Vladimir Putin.
“We are doing this for both the present and the future of our country,“ he declared during a radio interview.
Peskov’s comments followed Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after which the US leader claimed Ukraine could reclaim all its territory from Russia.
Trump had dismissed Russia’s military prowess in a social media post, suggesting Ukraine might “be able to take back their Country in its original form”.
The Kremlin spokesman pushed back strongly against the “paper tiger” description, particularly regarding the Russian economy.
“Russia is more associated with a bear,“ Peskov countered.
He acknowledged that Russia’s economy faces certain tensions and problems in various sectors amid slowing growth and persistent inflation.
Moscow’s finance ministry has proposed raising the sales tax from next year to help cover the costs of the offensive, which has pushed the budget into a deficit.
Peskov offered a pessimistic assessment of wider efforts to improve relations with Washington under the Trump administration.
The rapprochement that began when Trump returned to the White House in January has yielded results that are “close to zero,“ he stated.
Zelensky has welcomed Trump’s apparent shift in position as a significant development for Ukraine.
On the streets of Kyiv, however, residents expressed scepticism about the impact of Trump’s words without accompanying action.
“It’s just another opinion from Trump, which changes every hour,“ said 33-year-old Bogdan Tkachuk.
Svitlana Fetisova, whose son died fighting at the front, said she wanted to see “more help, more action, not just words, because Ukraine is suffering”. – AFP
