Russia’s influential crowd of military bloggers chimed in with notes of trepidation. “Things for sure won’t get easier with Trump’s victory,” Alexander Kots, a defense blogger, wrote on Telegram. “He’s smart and unpredictable, and that’s dangerous.”
“It’s not worth being so openly happy about Trump’s presidency,” the popular channel Voenny Osvedomitel posted. “In Donald Trump’s head, the ‘end of the conflict’ could mean something entirely different to how ordinary Russians or the leadership see it.”
Behind the mistrustful belligerence, however, lies the hope in Russia that Trump’s win could turn the tide of the Kremlin’s war, which Moscow blames on a Democratic Party-led policy of support for Kyiv.
Statements by Republicans criticizing U.S. aid to Kyiv, however, offered “a chance for a more constructive approach,” said Slutsky, adding that the election result showed Americans want their leaders to prioritize domestic problems over “global wars.”
Trump’s victory offers the opportunity for “a reset in relations,” Kirill Dmitriev, a close ally of Putin and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which has been sanctioned by the U.S., said in an emailed statement.
“Ordinary Americans are tired of the unprecedented lies, incompetence, and malice of the Biden administration,” Dmitriev said. “This opens up new opportunities for resetting relations between Russia and the United States.”