Russia pushed back Wednesday after President Trump described its military as a “paper tiger,” with the Kremlin insisting the country is more like a bear — and a very real one.
“Russia is by no means a tiger. Russia is the s a bear. There is no such thing as paper bears. Russia is a real bear,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told RBC Radio. “There is nothing paper about it.”
The unusual exchange came after Trump, in a post on Truth Social Tuesday, said Ukraine could not only reclaim all of its territory but “maybe even go further than that.” He praised Ukraine’s resilience and sharply criticized Russia’s prolonged struggle in the war.
“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,” the president wrote. “This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’”
Trump added that Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing major economic challenges and urged Ukraine to take advantage of the moment. “Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” he wrote. “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.”
