Officials in Moscow praised President Donald Trump for taking a sympathetic position toward Russia after he blamed Ukraine for starting the war.
Sergey Lavrov, the minister of foreign affairs for Russia, acknowledged Trump as the “first, and so far, apparently, the only Western leader” to recognize what Russia believes is a “root cause” of the escalated tensions.
Trump is "the first, and so far, apparently, the only Western leader who has publicly and loudly said that one of the root causes of the Ukrainian situation was the brazen path of the previous administration to draw Ukraine into NATO,” Lavrov said on Wednesday.
“This is already a signal that he understands our position," he added.
Lavrov is currently under personal sanctions in the U.S. due to his involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
His comments arrived after Trump declared Ukraine “should have never started” the war with Russia on Tuesday – an explicitly opposite position to that of the previous administration, a majority of lawmakers and most Western leaders. The war began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The president received more praise from Russian officials on Wednesday after calling Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelensky a “dictator without elections.”
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, wrote on X that Trump was “200 percent right” about Zelensky.
“If you'd told me just three months ago that these were the words of the US president, I would have laughed out loud. [Donald Trump] is 200 percent right. Bankrupt clown…,” Medvedev wrote.
"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left." If you'd told me just three months ago that these were the words of the US president, I would have laughed out loud. @realDonaldTrump is 200 percent right. Bankrupt clown…
— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) February 19, 2025
Trump is currently working to end the Ukraine–Russia conflict, one of his campaign promises, in part by cozying up with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This past week, the U.S. engaged in negotiations with Russia but left Ukraine and the European Union out of the conversation, raising alarm bells.
French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency meeting with dozens of other leaders Wednesday after Trump attacked the Ukrainian president.
Putin dismissed concerns about the U.S. excluding European allies in the conversation calling the response “hysterical.”
He seemingly sought to deepen the wedge by claiming “all European leaders” had “directly interfered in the election process in the U.S.” and that allies were behaving “in a boorish manner” toward Trump.
“I am surprised by the restraint of newly elected U.S. President Trump towards his allies, who behaved, frankly speaking, in a boorish manner. He still behaves quite courteously toward them,” Putin said on Wednesday.
