San Francisco Frontiers - Russia vows to press on in Ukraine, rejects Trump jibe

After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a day earlier, the US leader said Ukraine could win back every inch of its territory from Russia, which he characterised as a "paper tiger" with a failing economy.

The remarks were a major pivot in Trump's stance on the three-and-a-half-year conflict and come after weeks of mounting frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for refusing to halt his offensive.

"We are continuing our special military operation to ensure our interests and achieve the goals" set by Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, using Moscow's term for its assault on Ukraine.

"We are doing this for both the present and the future of our country. For many generations to come. Therefore, we have no alternative," he added in a radio interview.

Russia launched its all-out offensive on Ukraine in February 2022, when its forces tried to capture the capital Kyiv and Putin publicly called for Zelensky to be toppled.

The conflict has since killed tens of thousands of people, devastated much of east and south Ukraine and forced millions to flee their homes.

Moscow's army controls around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, including the Crimean peninsula annexed in 2014, and has been grinding forwards on the battlefield, with both armies suffering immense losses.

Trump had on Tuesday dismissed Russia's military prowess and mocked its inability to beat Ukraine in a matter of days.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said Ukraine may "be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that".

- 'Real bear' -

Russia bristled at the accusation it was weak.

"The phrase 'paper tiger' was used in relation to our economy," Peskov said, pushing back against Trump's comments.

"Russia is more associated with a bear. And paper bears don't exist. Russia is a real bear," he added.

He did concede, however, that Russia's economy -- slowing after two years of rapid growth and with stubborn inflation -- was facing some headwinds.

"Yes, Russia is experiencing tensions and problems in various sectors of the economy," he said.

Moscow's finance ministry on Wednesday proposed raising the sales tax from next year to help cover the costs of the offensive, which has pushed Russia into a budget deficit.

Kyiv and Washington are trying to cut off revenues from Moscow's vital energy exports to further squeeze the Kremlin.

Moscow also offered a downbeat assessment of wider efforts to boost relations with Washington, which has seen multiple phone calls between Putin and Trump and a summit meeting in Alaska.

The rapprochement ushered in when Trump returned to the White House in January has yielded "close to zero" results, Peskov said.

- 'More action' -

Zelensky has hailed Trump's apparent change of position as a "big shift", though it is unclear if the US leader will follow through with concrete steps, such as more sanctions that Kyiv has been lobbying for.

On the streets of Kyiv, there was scepticism.

"It's just another opinion from Trump, which changes every hour," 33-year-old Bogdan Tkachuk told AFP.

Svitlana Fetisova, whose son died at the front, said she would want to see "more help, more action, not just words, because Ukraine is suffering".

"I really want to believe that this is true and that finally the country responsible for the balance of peace in the whole world will turn to us," Fetisova told AFP.

C.Williams--SFF