Kremlin Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov has hit back at US President, Donald Trump’s claim that Ukraine could effectively win the war, declaring that Russia would be continuing its offensive on Ukraine “to ensure our interests and achieve the goals.”
In a radio interview, Peskov asserted, “We are doing this for both the present and the future of our country, for many generations to come.” “Therefore, we have no alternative,” he stated.
He added that Moscow is determined to address the “root causes” of the war in Ukraine, shorthand for the Kremlin’s longstanding justifications for its full-scale invasion. “Putin repeatedly tried and offered to resolve those root causes,” Peskov said.
Peskov ‘s remarks came after Trump on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, threw his weight behind Ukraine after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, posting on social media that the country was “in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”
“I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.”
Donald Trump
In a major shift, the US President said, “Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win.”
“This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’”
Donald Trump
The strengthened support from Trump, if it sticks, is a huge win for Zelenskyy, who has urged the American President to keep up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his war.
It was a departure from Trump’s previous suggestions that Ukraine would never be able to reclaim all the territory that Russia has occupied since seizing the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
However, Peskov pushed back against Trump’s “paper tiger” remark, insisting Russia was more of a “bear.”
“Russia is hardly a tiger. It’s more often associated with a bear. And there’s no such thing as a paper bear. Russia is a real bear. Putin has described our bear many times, and in different tones. There’s nothing paper about it.”
Dmitry Peskov
Though he conceded the economy, which is slowing after three years of rapid growth and with stubborn inflation, was facing some headwinds.
Peskov emphasized that it was wrong to think that Ukraine could recapture land taken by Moscow’s army. “The idea that Ukraine can recapture something is, from our point of view, mistaken,” Peskov said.
Peskov Dismisses Trump’s Call For Halt In Russian Oil Purchases
Trump has also called on countries including China, India and EU members to stop buying Russian oil as a way to put pressure on Moscow. Peskov dismissed the idea, saying the US President, a former businessman, was trying to increase sales of US energy.
“The simplest thing is to force the whole world to buy more expensive American oil and more expensive American liquefied gas and without resorting to any elaborate diplomatic maneuvers, that’s essentially what he is doing.”
Dmitry Peskov
The Kremlin Spokesman also poured scorn on Trump’s attempted rapprochement, which saw him welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin to a summit in Alaska last month, saying it had yielded “close to zero” results.
After the Alaska summit and meetings with Zelenskyy and prominent European leaders at the White House, Trump had announced that he was arranging for direct talks between leaders.
However, Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy, and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine, often targeting civilians in residential areas, while committing a series of provocative violations of eastern European airspace.
Last week, Estonia said that three Russian fighter jets violated its airspace, not long after 20 Russian drones entered Poland’s airspace, raising fears among Europe’s NATO countries of a spillover from the Ukraine war.
