Putin's agitators react to Trump "How is he talking to us?"

There is great outrage on Russian state TV about Donald Trump's ultimatum on Ukraine: the tenor is that peace will not be dictated. Putin, on the other hand, is said to regard the war aims as achieved.

How is Moscow reacting to Donald Trump's statements on the war in Ukraine? Can the Kremlin respond to the wishes of the new US president? And does the Russian public actually notice any of this?

The latter can clearly be answered in the affirmative. In his infamous TV show "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov" on the Rossiya 1 channel, Vladimir Solovyov even reads out the entire post in which Trump threatens the economically weakening Putin with sanctions if it does not end the "ridiculous war".

This does not go down well at all with Solovyov's nationalist-minded panel. "Look what Trump is doing," rumbles Duma deputy Andrey Gurulyov with regard to the "ultimatum". "Let's be honest: today he didn't act like a US president, but as if he owned the world."

"You can't talk to Russia like that!"

Gurulyov quotes Russian war reporter Alexander Sladkov, who "correctly" described Trump as a "hooligan" who "hasn't been beaten up for a long time". In fact, there is far too much talk about the New Yorker. "Look what's on some channels: 'Trump will end the war!' That's on our TV channels, not the American ones."

This annoys the ex-military man: "What war does he want to stop? On what terms? Will he impose sanctions? Will he isolate Russia? Look at our country, its size and its territories. Look at the distances. Look at the people who live there. Who has this degree of unity?" In the USA, on the other hand, they would fall over each other.

The same applies to Europe. Not so at home: "In Russia, the harder it gets, the more united people become. They get angrier at the enemy," Gurulyov knows and snorts: "You can't talk to Russia like that!" A good response from Vladimir Putin would be "a nuclear explosion [in the Arctic]."

The old threat: a nuclear strike on London

"There are many other things we can blow up - like London," Solovyov interjects. "Yes, London, we don't even have to talk about that," replies Gurulyov. "Let's blow it up over London: they'll think it's fireworks," the presenter muses aloud. Gurulyov remembers the real issue: "It's just so crude: how does he talk to us? Who does he think he's talking to?"

He had spoken to military officers, says Gurulyov. They asked: "What peace? With whom? Peace for what?". "Some still say: 'Russians are fighting Russians'. That's a lie: Russians are fighting non-Russians who have betrayed their motherland and their faith. They are the ones we are fighting."

Trump has whetted the appetite of the Russians"We can make a deal and share Greenland"

Gurulyov ends: "We must win. We cannot allow this open wound to fester. It could start the next war against us at any moment. The people are united in this belief."

"We have to play along"

In contrast to the politician, political scientist Sergei Mikheyev takes a more sober view. "Yes, he is definitely cocky. Yes, he is a wheeler-dealer. A lot of it is for show," he says of Trump. And with regard to negotiations: "We can't agree and we can't disagree. That is the delicate situation."

What Trump proposes will only benefit him, says Mikheyev. However, nothing should be rejected outright. "We have to make a profit from this situation. What profit? That's difficult to say. We have to play along, we have to think." It's about the point at which Trump is useful for Russia and Russia is useful for Trump.

The question is in which areas Moscow can make compromises at all. Russia has already annexed four Ukrainian oblasts - even if they have not yet been taken. The Kremlin sees them as domestic territory that must not be touched under any circumstances.

Putin allegedly sees war aims as achieved

Putin has also put his foot down in the discussion about peacekeeping troops in Ukraine: Western soldiers on the border are unacceptable, emphasizes Mariya Zakharova. The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman went on to warn that such a deployment could trigger "an uncontrollable escalation".

On the other hand, the country is struggling with economic problems: Part of the Russian elite would be open to negotiations to solve problems such as high interest rates and the shortage of labor, the Reuters news agency is told by anonymous sources.

The Kremlin "naturally has an economic interest in negotiating a diplomatic end to the conflict", says Oleg Vyugin, who used to work for the Russian central bank. Putin also recognizes this.

According to a Reuters source, the president considers the war aims to have been achieved: The land connection to Crimea has been secured and Kiev's military has been weakened. This could be a sign that Putin is prepared to negotiate after all.