By Andrew Osborn and Anton Kolodyazhnyy
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Tuesday warned Russians not to get carried away by what the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is doing over Ukraine even though its actions may sometimes look hopeful for Moscow and to always “prepare for the worst”.
Washington has paused military aid to Ukraine and put some intelligence sharing on hold after Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy clashed in the Oval Office last month, and Moscow’s forces have since had significant success in pushing Ukrainian forces out of Russia’s western Kursk region.
Senior Russian politicians reacted with glee to what they saw as Zelenskiy’s White House humiliation, saying the Ukrainian leader got what he deserved in an encounter seen as helpful to Moscow at a time when it is working to build ties with Trump’s new administration while trying to discredit Zelenskiy.
Trump adviser Elon Musk also caused a stir in Russia on Sunday by saying on X that the entire Ukrainian frontline would collapse if he turned off his Starlink communications terminals, even though he later said it was something he would never do.
“Don’t rush to put on rose-tinted spectacles,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told an audience at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics on Tuesday, delivering a reality check to Russians excited by Trump’s apparently friendlier behaviour towards them, which has completely upended the policy of the previous U.S. administration.
“We always need to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. And we must always be ready to defend our interests,” said Peskov.
His warning came as U.S. and Ukrainian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia that are partly designed to determine whether Ukraine is willing to make material concessions to Russia to end the war. If the talks go well, Kyiv hopes Trump may resume military aid and full intelligence sharing.
‘EVERYTHING IS WORKING OUT FOR US’
Peskov said Russia was achieving its aims on the battlefield in Ukraine, regardless of any past or future decisions taken by the U.S. administration.
“Many (Russians) are… saying that the Americans will now stop delivering weapons (to Ukraine) or have already stopped, and that Musk will now turn off his communications system and that everything will work out for us,” said Peskov.
“(But) everything is working out for us without these things. And so many weapons have been brought into Ukraine that even after a halt in deliveries the Ukrainians will have stuff to fight with and on for many, many months ahead.
“If Musk turns off his system then something else will immediately be switched on. But things are working out for our guys (fighting in Ukraine) without any switch-offs, without any halts (in deliveries), and they are moving forward,” he said.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn in London and Anton Kolodyazhnyy in Moscow; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Gareth Jones)
