Moscow pushed back hard against Donald Trump’s latest statements about the Russo-Ukrainian war. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggests the American leader’s rhetoric shifted following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Peskov told Russian outlet RBC that the US president’s rhetoric shifted after meeting with the Ukrainian leader.

“Clearly, President Trump heard about what is happening in Zelenskyy’s version. And probably, at this moment, this version became the reason for such an assessment that we heard.”

The Kremlin took particular issue with Trump calling Russia a “paper tiger.” Trump used the term to describe what he saw as Russia’s military weakness masked by reputation—arguing that a conflict requiring “a Real Military Power less than a week to win” had dragged on for years without decisive Russian victory.

Peskov’s response carried typical Russian bluster: “Russia is by no means a tiger, but rather more associated with a bear. There are no paper bears.”

Here’s what really stung Moscow. Peskov dismissed as “erroneous” Trump’s assertion that Ukraine could militarily reclaim its territories, claiming that battlefield dynamics demonstrate otherwise, according to Russian state agency TASS.

When Trump called the war “pointless” for Russia, Peskov fell back on familiar talking points. He reiterated Moscow’s position that Russia is conducting the operation to “ensure its security”, while Europeans and the previous US administration never understood Moscow’s concerns.

But what exactly did Trump say that rattled the Kremlin?

The US president’s social media post painted Russia as economically desperate and militarily incompetent. Trump argued Ukraine could “fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form” with European Union and NATO backing.

“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started is very much an option.”

His assessment followed the meeting with Zelenskyy on the margins of the UN General Assembly session.

Trump went on saying 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. This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.'”

The US president then predicted that when ordinary Russians discover the war’s economic toll—gas shortages, endless lines, resources drained by fighting Ukraine—the military situation would shift decisively.

“Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”

The American president concluded with a commitment to continue weapons supplies, telling NATO they could “do what they want with them.”

“We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them.”

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, reported receiving positive signals about continued US support until the war’s end.