Moscow won't congratulate Donald Trump: the shadow of war in Ukraine hangs over relations with the U.S.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had no plans to congratulate Donald Trump, who claimed victory in the US presidential election, saying Trump would be judged on his “actions”.
  

“I don't know anything about a plan by the (Russian) president to congratulate Trump on the election. Let's not forget that we're talking about a hostile country that is directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to the conflict in Ukraine triggered by Moscow in February 2022. He stressed that the Kremlin would therefore judge Donald Trump “on concrete acts”.
 

Russian-American relations have been at an all-time low since Russia launched its assault on Ukraine, with the Kremlin blaming the West for supporting its Ukrainian ally. “It's virtually impossible for relations to deteriorate any further. They are at an all-time low. As to what will happen, everything will depend on the American leadership,” said the Kremlin spokesman. “We'll see what happens in January,” he noted, referring to the inauguration of the next US president.
 

Donald Trump repeatedly insisted that he could impose peace in Ukraine in “24 hours”, without ever explaining how he intended to do so, but criticizing the scale of the aid given to Kiev. He also praised Vladimir Putin. As a result, both in Europe and in Ukraine, the fear is that Donald Trump will force Ukraine to negotiate with Russia on terms very favorable to Moscow.
  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Donald Trump on his “impressive victory” in the US presidential election, hoping that his election would help Ukraine achieve “just peace”. Volodymyr Zelensky recalled his “wonderful” meeting with Donald Trump in New York in September, during which they “discussed in detail the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States, the victory plan and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine”.