Russia Applauds U.S. Shift on Ukraine After Oval Office Clash- wna24

Russia has welcomed what it sees as a shift in U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine following last week’s tense Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Donald Trump , and Vice President JD Vance.

Kremlin officials on Sunday praised the apparent cooling of relations between Washington and Kyiv, with Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying the “rapidly changing” U.S. position “largely coincides with our vision.”

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also commended Trump for what he described as his “common sense,” even as he acknowledged that the U.S. and Russia still have differences.

Russian leaders have gone beyond praise for Trump, taking the opportunity to ridicule Zelensky over the White House clash.

A spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry described the meeting as a “miracle of restraint,” claiming that Trump and Vance had shown unusual patience by not physically removing the Ukrainian president.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chair of Russia’s security council, took an even harsher tone, saying Zelensky was finally given a “proper slap down in the Oval Office.”

While some Republican leaders have brushed off Russia’s remarks, others have expressed alarm at the direction of U.S. policy.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) criticized the Trump administration’s approach in a social media post on Saturday, saying she is “sick” that the U.S. appears to be “walking away from our allies and embracing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) went even further, claiming on CNN’s State of the Union that the White House has essentially “become an arm of the Kremlin.”

However, the Trump administration has dismissed such concerns, insisting that the president is working to bring peace to Ukraine by negotiating directly with Putin.

“They’re going to say what their position is,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Fox News Sunday when asked about Russia’s statements. “What we should pay attention to here in the United States of America is the American people.”

Other Republican leaders have also defended Trump’s approach.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed Murkowski’s concerns, telling ABC’s This Week that “we’re a free country” where people can have different opinions. He argued that if a Democrat had led negotiations in the same way as Trump, “everyone would be saying, well, he’s on his way to the Nobel Peace Prize.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also defended Trump, saying the president has been “very clear” that Russia was the aggressor in the war. However, he added that Sen. Murkowski’s criticism was “plainly wrong.”

As U.S. leaders debate their stance on Ukraine, European allies are moving quickly to contain the fallout.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met with Trump the day before the Oval Office clash, told the BBC on Sunday that European nations must “find a way where we can all work together.”

He said the UK and its allies would develop a plan to end the war through a “coalition of the willing” and present it to Trump, who he believes still seeks a “lasting peace.”

However, with tensions rising between Washington and its European partners, the once-strong alliance on Ukraine appears to be under strain.