‘We are fighting against … ‘: Putin hits back at Trump’s ‘paper tiger’ jibe; asks what is Nato then?

Russian President Vladimir Putin fired back on Thursday at US President Donald Trump for calling Russia a “paper tiger,” suggesting that Nato itself might fit that description. Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Group in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin stated that Russian forces were advancing along the entire front in Ukraine and that nearly the entire US-led Nato alliance was now opposing Russia. “A paper tiger. What follows then? Go and deal with this paper tiger. Well if we are fighting with the entire Nato bloc, we are moving, advancing, and we feel confident, and we are a paper tiger, then what is Nato itself?” Putin said. Trump, who had previously suggested that Kyiv should cede territory to achieve peace with Moscow, changed his stance sharply last week. He expressed confidence that Ukraine could reclaim all its territory from Russia and referred to Moscow as a “paper tiger,” a statement he reiterated this week. Russia’s war in Ukraine, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two, has escalated into the most significant confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Russian officials have declared that they are now engaged in a “hot” conflict with the West.At the forum, Putin also addressed the reports over US supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. He said, “It is impossible to use Tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel.” “This will mean a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States.” However, Reuters reported that the Trump administration’s plan to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine may be unfeasible because current inventories are committed to the US navy and other uses. In a stern message to Nato, Putin asserted that member countries were supplying Ukraine with intelligence, weapons, and training, and were stirring up hysteria about alleged Russian plans to attack a Nato member—claims he dismissed as “impossible to believe.” He added, “If anyone still has a desire to compete with us in the military sphere, as we say, feel free, let them try. Russia’s countermeasures will not be long in coming.”