Published: 4:49pm, 24 Sep 2025Updated: 4:56pm, 24 Sep 2025
The Kremlin on Wednesday said it had no choice but to continue its military offensive on Ukraine, as Moscow rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that Russia was a “paper tiger”.
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The comments come a day after Trump said Ukraine could win back all of its territory from Russia, which he characterised as a “paper tiger” with a failing economy – a major pivot in his stance on the three-and-a-half-year conflict.
“We are continuing our special military operation to ensure our interests and achieve the goals,” set by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, using Moscow’s term for its assault on Ukraine.
“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 added in a radio interview.
He also pushed back against Trump’s “paper tiger” remark.
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“Russia is not a tiger but is more associated with a bear,” Peskov told the RBC radio station.
“Paper bears don’t exist.” Though angered by what they saw as Trump’s insulting rhetoric, Russian nationalists and political insiders interpreted his flip-flop as a sign that he was washing his hands of the war in Ukraine after his unsuccessful and unrealistic attempts to broker a quick peace deal.