The Kremlin has instructed state-controlled media not to personally praise U.S. President Donald Trump, but rather to shape his image as “a man who had the wisdom to respond to Russia’s outstretched hand”.
This development comes from several sources within pro-government media and a source close to the Kremlin.
“If negotiations do not lead to anything, we can always say, ‘We tried, we did everything,’” one source explained to the Moscow Times.
Strategic Messaging for Russian Audiences
According to the source, any contacts between the teams of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump must be presented positively, emphasizing that the engagement is not with generic U.S. officials but with Trump’s team specifically.
“We must stress in every possible way that Trump himself has been oppressed—both at home and in Europe. They put pressure on us, they put pressure on him, but we turned out to be stronger,” the source told Verstka.
A state media employee described the new messaging strategy as follows:
“We are not making promises about the end of the ‘Special Military Operation’ (SVO), nor are we setting deadlines. The key point is that contact has been made, and we are ready to listen.”
Another state TV channel employee noted that while there were no direct orders to manipulate coverage, the presidential administration had instructed media outlets to “balance” coverage of Trump with statements from the Russian side.
“It feels like walking a minefield—don’t overpraise, don’t underpraise. So we’re switching to a neutral information-processing mode to play it safe,” said the head of a pro-Kremlin media outlet.
Trump’s Stance on Ukraine Puzzles Moscow
Trump’s rhetoric on Ukraine and his harsh tone toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have surprised the Kremlin, Bloomberg sources reported.
According to these sources, Trump’s statements have “exceeded all expectations” in Moscow, which has been attempting to shape U.S. perceptions of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, Russia’s top leadership remains cautious, suspecting a possible trap or unexpected shifts from the U.S. administration, which has so far shown a willingness to make concessions.
Nonetheless, the Kremlin aims to extract maximum benefits from any potential deal to end the war, Bloomberg’s sources claim.
Trump’s Role in U.S.-Russia Talks
After promising to end the war within 24 hours, Trump held phone talks with Putin three weeks after his inauguration. Just a week later, Russian and U.S. delegations met in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine’s involvement.
As a result of these negotiations, both sides agreed to restore embassy operations and begin consultations on mutual “irritants.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also announced the possibility of easing sanctions, depending on Moscow’s position.
Meanwhile, Trump’s rhetoric has closely mirrored Kremlin propaganda. He has blamed Zelensky for starting the war and called him a “dictator without elections,” falsely claiming his approval rating was 4 percent—14 times lower than the actual 57 percent reported by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology in February.
American diplomats opposed labeling Russia as an aggressor in the G7 declaration and did not support a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion on the war’s third anniversary.
