Russian officials and state media adopted a triumphant tone today after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned a three-year policy followed by his country and announced that he would likely meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon to negotiate a peace agreement in Ukraine, the Associated Press reported, BTA writes.
Trump's change in tactics appeared to identify Putin as the only player who matters in ending the fighting, and it appears that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will remain on the sidelines, as will European governments, from any possible peace talks. The Ukrainian leader recently described the prospect as "very dangerous". After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin was isolated by the West, and in 2023 The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader for war crimes.
Here are some reactions to Wednesday's events.
"For us, the position of the current (American) administration is much more attractive," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russian officials and state-backed media appeared triumphant after Trump and Putin's call on Wednesday, which lasted more than an hour.
"The presidents of Russia and the United States have finally spoken. "This is very important in itself," said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian National Security Council, in an online statement.
Senior lawmaker Alexei Pushkov said the conversation "will go down in the history of world politics and diplomacy."
"I am sure that in Kiev, Brussels, Paris and London they are now reading with horror Trump's long statement about his conversation with Putin and cannot believe their eyes," Pushkov wrote on his messaging app.
Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti said in its "Opinion" section: "The US has finally really hurt Zelensky," adding that Trump had found "common ground" with Putin.
"This means that the formula of "nothing for Ukraine without Ukraine" - the sacred rule for Zelensky, the European Union and the previous US administration - no longer exists. Moreover, the opinion of Kiev and Brussels (the European Union) is of no interest to Trump at all," the publication also says.
The popular Russian pro-Kremlin tabloid "Komsomolskaya Pravda" went even further and published a column in which the headline stated that "Trump signed Zelensky's death warrant".
"The myth of Russia as a "pariah" in world politics, carefully fanned by Western propaganda, has crashed with a bang," the publication says.
Trump appears to be set on making a deal over the heads of Ukraine and European governments, the text adds.
He has also effectively dashed Ukraine's hopes of joining NATO, which the alliance declared less than a year ago an "irreversible" step. He has also dashed Ukraine's hopes of regaining the parts of its territory previously seized by the Russian army. Russia is now believed to have occupied 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.
The US administration's approach to the potential settlement is particularly close to Moscow's vision of how the war should end. This has caused concern and tension in the 32-member NATO alliance and the 27-member European Union.
Some European governments, which fear that their countries could also come under the Kremlin's sights, were alarmed by Washington's new course and said they should have a seat at the negotiating table.
"Ukraine, Europe and the United States must work on this issue together. TOGETHER,“ Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media on Wednesday.
Others opposed Trump's initiatives and poured cold water on his optimistic expectations.
"Just as Putin has no intention of ceasing hostilities even during potential negotiations, we must preserve the unity of the West and increase support ... for Ukraine, as well as political and economic pressure on Russia," said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. "Our actions must show that we are not changing our course."
A servicewoman from the 53rd Ukrainian brigade, fighting in the eastern Donetsk region, said it was normal for Trump and Putin to talk to each other.
"If dialogue is one of the ways to influence the situation, then let them talk - but let it be meaningful enough for us to feel the results of these conversations," said the servicewoman, who requested anonymity due to risks to the security of her family in the occupied Ukrainian territory.
But she is skeptical of negotiations, given the incompatible demands presented in the past by Russia and Ukraine.
"The terms are unacceptable to everyone. What we are offering is not acceptable to them, and what they are offering is unacceptable to us," she said. "That's why I, like probably every military person here, believe that this can only be resolved by force," she added.