The Kremlin seems pretty happy after Donald Trump made an “obvious” claim that Ukraine might one day be part of Russia.
The US president told Fox News that the beleaguered country “may be Russian one day”.
The shocking remark is at odds with the rest of the West’s determination to make sure Ukraine remains a sovereign state.
The US has also been funding Kyiv for almost three years to stop Vladimir Putin from illegally annexing the whole country.
Trump said: “They may make a deal, they may not make a deal, they may be Russian some day, they may not be Russian some day, but we’re gonna have all this money in there and I said I want it back.”
Trump has repeatedly promised to end the Ukraine war but he has not explained how, sparking fears that he could force Kyiv to cede occupied land to Russia by withholding military aid.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was also quick to respond to Trump’s remarks, saying: “The fact that a large part of Ukraine wants to become Russia or has already joined it is obvious.
“This is a fact that has materialised on the ground: Russia now has four new regions.”
Putin illegally annexed Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia in September 2022 in a flagrant breach of international law.
That followed the annexation on Crimea in 2014.
He also held a sham referendum asking Ukrainians to vote on officially becoming part of Russia. The west believes many who voted were coerced.
Putin occupies around a fifth of Ukraine right now, and has made it clear he does not want to do any kind of peace deal unless it recognises “the reality of the ground” – referring to how much land Russia currently holds.
Peskov continued: “People who, despite many dangers, were queuing to vote in a referendum on joining Russia – this in many ways corresponds to the words of President Trump.”
Speaking to reporters from the Russian state news agency TASS, he then hinted there was a reasonable chance Moscow could agree to any peace terms from Trump. He added: “Every event has a 50% chance: either yes or no.”
The US is Kyiv’s largest donor, meaning Trump’s actions could change the course of the war.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy even told the Guardian that he believes Europe cannot guarantee security without the US, amid speculation that other allies could step up.
He said: “There are voices which say that Europe could offer security guarantees without the Americans, and I always say no.
“Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees.”
Zelenskyy also said said he is ready to negotiate with Russia but wants to do so from a “position of strength”.
He is set to travel to the Munich Security Conference this week to meet with US vice-president JD Vance, who has been highly sceptical about continuing support for Ukraine.
He previously refused to meet with Zelenskyy and said he does not “really care what happens to Ukraine, one way or another”.