Kremlin hails Trump security strategy as “largely consistent with our vision”
Russia's presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov welcomed the Trump administration's new National Security Strategy on 7 December, saying the document's adjustments "largely correspond to our vision" and could serve as a "modest guarantee" for joint work on a Ukrainian settlement. Peskov made the comments in an interview with Pavel Zarubin for the state television program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin," as Russia simultaneously launched over 700 drones and missiles at Ukraine during ongoing peace negotiations.
Peskov's endorsement signals Moscow believes it can cite official US policy to pressure Ukraine into accepting territorial concessions. The strategy calls for an "expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine" as a "core interest" and criticizes European governments for holding "unrealistic expectations for the war" while allegedly "trampling on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition." Russia has spent years pushing exactly these talking points.
What Peskov praised in the strategy
"The current administration is fundamentally different from previous ones, and of course, President Trump is now strong in terms of domestic political positions, and this gives him the opportunity to adjust the concept in accordance with his vision," Interfax quoted Peskov as saying.
The Kremlin spokesperson specifically praised passages that align with long-standing Russian narratives. The strategy states that a "large European majority wants peace, yet that desire is not translated into policy" because governments subvert democratic processes. It calls for "reestablishing strategic stability with Russia" and enabling "post-hostilities reconstruction of Ukraine to enable its survival as a viable state."
"Perhaps one can hope that this could be a modest guarantee that we will be able to constructively continue joint work on finding a peaceful settlement on Ukraine, at the very least," Peskov added.
Moscow's new talking points came from Washington
The strategy's framing hands Moscow rhetorical ammunition just as US envoy Keith Kellogg claims peace talks are in the "last 10 meters." Russia can now argue that European support for Ukraine is "undemocratic," that any deal must come quickly, and that "strategic stability" requires accepting Moscow's gains.
The document conspicuously omits any mention of Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory, war crimes documentation, or the principle that aggressors should not profit from conquest.
Meanwhile, the military pressure continues. During the Miami peace negotiations, Russia launched over 700 drones and missiles against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, leaving Ukrainians facing 12-16 hours without electricity daily. The pattern is unmistakable: negotiate while attacking, betting US pressure will force Kyiv to accept terms under duress.
The cost of "expeditious" peace
Russia has burned through roughly 1% of its pre-war male population to capture just 1.45% of Ukrainian territory since February 2022. Between 1 million and 1.35 million Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded. These losses are militarily unsustainable, but Moscow appears to expect diplomatic rescue.
The NSS's language about Europe facing "civilizational erasure" and loss of "national identities" echoes Kremlin propaganda about the EU destroying traditional European culture. Its call for "flexible realism" and avoiding imposing "democratic or other social change" on other nations suggests Washington may accept Russian spheres of influence.
For Ukraine, the document raises hard questions about what "expeditious" peace means when one side is pounding civilian infrastructure while the other negotiates.
