WASHINGTON — If Russia is only a paper bear, does it have clause?
The Kremlin fired back Wednesday at President Trump’s dig that Russia’s struggles in Ukraine gave Moscow away as a “paper tiger” by bizarrely insisting it is still a “bear” of a military power.
“Russia is by no means a tiger. Russia is traditionally seen as a bear. There is no such thing as paper bears. Russia is a real bear,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov awkwardly told RBC Radio. “There is nothing paper about it.”
“There is no such thing as paper bears. Russia is a real bear,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. ZUMAPRESS.comOn Tuesday, Trump dramatically declared for the first time that he now believes Ukraine can fully repel Russian invaders, reclaim all of its land, and “maybe even go further than that.”
The president lauded Ukraine’s fighting spirit and chided Russia’s failures to subdue its western neighbor, despite pre-war expectations among most observers.
“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,” Trump swiped on Truth Social. “This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’”
“Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” he went on. “In any event, I wish both Countries well. We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them.”
Peskov rejected characterizations of Russia’s economy, contending that Moscow “maintains resilience and macroeconomic stability.”
Back in June, Russia’s economy minister claimed that the country was “basically already on the brink of falling into a recession.”
“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,” Trump said. Bianca Otero/ZUMA / SplashNews.comLater that month, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the country would move to slash its military spending.
Putin has also downplayed economic concerns recently, claiming the slowdown was “deliberate action” to curtail inflation.
Trump has been working to further undercut Russia’s oil sector, which Moscow uses to help fund its war machine.
The president has expressed support for secondary tariffs that would target countries that continue to purchase Russia fuel.
But the president made clear Tuesday that he wants any new sanctions to be a joint effort with allies.
“For those tariffs to be effective, European nations — all of you are gathered here right now — would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures,” Trump stressed during his address at the United Nations General Assembly. “I mean, you’re much closer to the scene. We have an ocean in between. You’re right there.”
Olympic mascot the Polar Bear waves during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on February 7, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. Getty Images“Europe has to step it up,” he reiterated. “They’re buying oil and gas from Russia while they’re fighting Russia. It’s embarrassing to them, and it was very embarrassing to them when I found out about it.”
Trump met with Putin in Alaska Aug. 15 as part of his effort to broker peace between the two warring countries.
In the time since, however, Russia has only ramped up its attacks on Ukraine, targeting civilians with brutal bombardments by drones and missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mused that Putin’s habit of lying to Trump was a motivating factor in the president’s decision to publicly proclaim for the first time a belief that Kyiv can win the war.
“I think the fact that Putin was lying to President Trump so many times also made a difference between us,” Zelensky observed on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” on Tuesday.
