President Trump did a complete reversal on the Russia-Ukraine war this week, calling Russia a “paper tiger” and predicting Ukraine could win back all its territory.

The Kremlin and its online supporters have hit back at President Trump over his sudden change on the subject of the Russia-Ukraine War.

When we last saw Trump, he was meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and word was pushed out that Trump had “got what he needed” from the meeting and that progress in ending the war would be apparent shortly.

Then, concurrent with his speech before the UN Security Council this week, Trump did at least a verbal 180.

Ever since coming to office, Trump has clearly been aligned on ending the Russia-Ukraine war on terms favorable to Putin.

The highlight was Trump essentially tossing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky out of the White House after receiving a thorough dressing-down by Vice President JD Vance.

This week was different.

Trump issued a lengthy statement saying Ukraine “is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”

He continued: “Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win. This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.'”

The president added that Putin and Russia are in “BIG Economic trouble” and suggested Ukraine could “maybe even go further than that” in retaking territory.

Trump concluded: “I wish both Countries well. We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them.”

There are several reasons for this change of heart.

Putin has repeatedly ignored Trump’s deadlines for agreeing to ceasefires or negotiations.

This culminated with a massive violation of Poland’s airspace by Russian drones and a violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighters.

All of this led to the invocation of Article 4 and emergency consultations by Poland and Estonia, and permission from Trump to shoot down future violators.

The Russians aren’t very happy with Trump’s behavior, though their response has been surprisingly muted.

What really made their teeth grind was calling Russia “a paper tiger” that had been “fighting aimlessly for three and a half years.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov used a local radio show to dismiss Trump’s social media message: “Russia is in no way a tiger. Still, Russia is more compared with a bear. There are no paper bears.”

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev mocked Trump’s new position, saying he had been given a dose of “alternative reality.”

“I have no doubt — he will come back. He always comes back,” Medvedev wrote about Trump.

“The main thing is to radically change your point of view on various issues more often.”

Margarita Simonyan, who heads the Russian state news channel RT, dismissed Trump’s support for Zelensky as that of a carnival huckster.

“Trump debuts as the tarot card reader telling the thrice-divorced lady that she is going to meet that billionaire prince after all, as long as she buys the magic crystals,” she wrote.

It appears that the Russians have realized they may have overplayed their hand.

The response has been much more muted than expected, and the commentary is taking place in venues where it won’t receive much attention within Russia.

In major Russian media, the story is portrayed as Trump not being terribly bright and nothing to worry about.

The Izvestiya newspaper suggested: “It’s important to remember that Trump is influenced by the last person he has spoken to. In this case it was Zelensky.”

Moscow believes that Donald Trump’s views on Ukraine are not set in stone and that he can be persuaded to come round to Russia’s view.

“We will have the opportunity to convey our position to the American side,” Peskov said.

Trump’s “paper tiger” insult cuts deep because it accurately describes Russia’s military performance over three years of war.

The muted Russian response suggests Putin knows he’s overextended and can’t afford to escalate with Trump.

Putin’s repeated violations of Trump’s deadlines finally triggered the president’s legendary temper.

The Kremlin’s attempts to downplay Trump’s statements reveal their desperation to maintain the relationship.

Russian officials’ claims that Trump can be “influenced” show they still don’t understand his negotiating style.

The shift removes pro-Russia voices from US decision-making and opens American weapons supplies to NATO allies.

Putin’s gamble that he could manipulate Trump has spectacularly backfired.

The timing coincides with Russia’s economic struggles and military stalemate in Ukraine.

Trump’s willingness to call Russia a “paper tiger” publicly humiliates Putin on the world stage.

The subdued Russian media coverage shows they’re trying to minimize domestic awareness of Trump’s insults.

This reversal demonstrates Trump’s pragmatic approach when his initial strategy fails to produce results.

Putin now faces the prospect of dealing with an angry Trump who feels deceived and manipulated.

The president’s prediction that Ukraine could win back all its territory represents a complete strategic shift.

Russian officials’ scrambling to explain away Trump’s comments reveals their panic over losing American cooperation.