Russia says Donald Trump's election victory is 'useful for us'

Vladimir Putin's ally Dmitry Medvedev has suggested that the outcome of the US presidential election would serve Russia's interests in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Medvedev was president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council. Over the course of the war in Ukraine, he has pushed anti-Western rhetoric and frequently threatened Kiev's allies about Moscow's nuclear capabilities.

Around the time of Trump's victory speech early Tuesday morning, Medvedev posted his election night response on Telegram.

Without directly congratulating the Republican candidate, Medvedev pointed out that there was an “angry bipartisan anti-Russian consensus” on Capitol Hill.

“But Trump has one quality that is useful to us – as a businessman through and through, he hates spending money on … idiotic allies, stupid charities and insatiable international organizations,” he said, seemingly referring to the global support for the Ukraine.

Newsweek has asked the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for comment.

Kremlin propagandists have promoted Trump as Russia's preferred candidate because of his comments on ending the war in Ukraine and his failure to approve of continued American aid to Kiev to combat Russian aggression.

However, the tone of Medvedev's comments contained no such triumphalism and suggested that trouble could still lie ahead.

“The question is how much Trump will be forced to donate to the war – he is stubborn, but the system is stronger,” Medvedev added in the post, which included a GIF image of the Republican.

Trump's expected victory spells uncertainty for Ukraine's war effort given Kiev's dependence on U.S. military aid and the Republican candidate's complicated history with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The focus of the impeachment proceedings against Trump was a phone call from 2019 in which then-President Trump is said to have pressured Zelensky to initiate investigations against his political rivals by withholding military aid.

On Tuesday morning, Zelensky acknowledged the Republican's success on election night, posting on X: “Congratulations to Donald Trump on his impressive election victory!”

Zelensky referred to the two's meeting in September, “where we discussed in detail the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States, the victory plan and ways to end Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

“I appreciate President Trump's commitment to the 'peace through strength' approach in global affairs,” Zelensky said, adding that this idea “can practically move closer to a just peace in Ukraine.”

During that meeting, Trump praised his relationship with both Zelensky and Putin. Trump then publicly blamed Zelensky and President Joe Biden for the war, without mentioning the Russian president.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not know that Putin would congratulate Trump. “Let us not forget that we are talking about an unfriendly country that is involved in the war against our state, both directly and indirectly,” he told state media.

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian official who chairs his country's sovereignty commission, told Russia's state news agency RIA that “there is currently panic in Zelensky's entourage and a search for ways to please Trump and gain his support.”

“All this is necessary so that weapons and funds flow to the post-Ukrainian space controlled by Zelensky at the same rate as before,” he added.