During the Kremlin’s regular briefing, spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked to respond to statements by the US president, Donald Trump, who stressed that the Russian president has “gone completely mad” because of his persistent aggression against Ukraine.

Peskov, in a carefully worded statement, avoided clashing with Trump, noting that “the start of the negotiation process, for which the American side made considerable efforts, is a very important achievement and we are grateful to the Americans and personally to President Trump for their help in organizing and starting this process.”

The Kremlin spokesman continued in softer tones, attributing the US president‘s statements to a climate of intense emotional charge: “This is a very important moment, which is associated with emotional charge of all parties involved and strong reactions.”

They are all very emotional, with all the emotions of all the people involved.
At the same time, however, he made it clear that Moscow does not intend to be influenced by Trump’s statements. “We are carefully monitoring all reactions. But President Putin is making the decisions that are necessary for the security of our country.”

Peskov also referred to the threats he said Kyiv had made against foreign leaders visiting Moscow for Victory Day, claiming that “many leaders who were here witnessed the Kyiv regime’s attempts to hit Russian territory with drones, even major cities, even the capital, on the eve of such an important day.” As he said, these attacks continue, and “we are obliged to take measures. President Putin is doing what is necessary for Russia’s security.”

Meanwhile, Peskov said the latest massive airstrikes against Ukraine are a response to Kiyv’s attacks on Russian infrastructure: “We have seen how the Ukrainians are hitting our social infrastructure. We have seen how our Ukrainian citizens have seen our Ukrainian citizens’ social security systems are. They are strikes against military installations, military targets,” he said.
She said.