Vladimir Putin’s allies have hit back at Donald Trump’s after his unexpected criticism of Russia over its war in Ukraine .
The US president was – until recently – very vocal about his support for his one-time friend Putin, even rolling out the red carpet for him for face-to-face talks in Alaska and offering to end the conflict on terms favourable to Russia.
He has falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war on multiple occasions.
But after speaking to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the UN on Tuesday, Trump unexpectedly said Ukraine can win back all of its occupied territory from Russia.
He also accused Moscow of looking like a “paper tiger” after “aimlessly” fighting for three years.
But on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov swiftly rejected Trum