Putin Official Calls Russia ‘A Real Bear’ After Trump Mocked Country’s Power

A Russian official fired back at President Donald Trump with a bizarre comparison after Trump mocked the country’s military in a social media post on Tuesday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov disputed Trump’s characterization that Russia is a “paper tiger” during an interview with Russian-state media, insisting the country should be referred to as a “real bear.” The Russian government’s defiance comes as Trump has voiced growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for refusing to end the war and suggested that unceasing conflict exposed Russia’s military weakness and economic problems.

“Russia is by no means a tiger. Russia is traditionally seen as a bear. There is no such thing as paper bears. Russia is a real bear,” Peskov told RBC radio. “There is nothing paper about it.”

Trump sharply criticized Russia for continuing its war with Ukraine after three-and-a-half years of fighting following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations on Tuesday.

The war has come at a steep price for Moscow with a recent study estimating that nearly one million Russian soldiers have been killed or injured during the war.

“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,’” Trump wrote in a post on the social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday.

The president also alluded to his increasingly cool relationship with Putin during his UN speech