Russian state television celebrates Trump's victory and praises Putin for pretending to support Harris

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Russian politicians and media figures reacted with a mix of celebration and caution after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

“There is only one place in the world where the mood is worse than at Kamala Harris's campaign headquarters: Bankova Street, the office of the President of Ukraine in Kiev,” said the host of the Russian television show The big gameDmitry Suslov said after the election, according to a translation by Russia analyst Julia Davis.

“Trump now has 24 hours to end the war in Ukraine. Donald, the clock is ticking! “This is what Trump promised,” host Olga Skabeeva said of Trump’s “overwhelming” victory, according to Davis.

Another Russian TV commentator suggested that Trump would now “blackmail” Ukraine into surrendering by cutting off US aid.

Others on Russian television praised Vladimir Putin's fake endorsement of Kamala Harris in September as a brilliant strategic move to boost Trump.

On the campaign trail, Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine in a day or even before he takes office, and has also indicated he would end U.S. aid to Ukraine. The president-elect claims he can find an agreement to end the conflict that would suit both sides, which is unlikely given the irreconcilable positions of Ukraine and Russia over the territory in question.

Russian officials, meanwhile, viewed the election results more cautiously.

“Trump has a useful trait for us: an entrepreneur through and through, he absolutely dislikes spending money on various hangers-on and stupid hanger-on allies, on bad charities and on insatiable international organizations,” said former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now a senior security official wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.

“The question is how much Trump will be forced to give to the war. He is stubborn, but the system is stronger,” Medvedev said.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, said Russia has “no illusions” about Trump and still views the US as an “unfriendly” country on the other side of a conflict with Russia.

“We have said repeatedly that the United States has the ability to help end this conflict. Will this happen and if so, how … we will see after (Mr. Trump's inauguration) in January,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made overtures to Trump, congratulating him on his victory and emphasizing previous US support for its defense efforts.

“I appreciate President Trump's commitment to the 'peace through strength' approach in global affairs,” the Ukrainian wrote on X on Wednesday. “This is exactly the principle that can practically bring a just peace in Ukraine closer. I hope we can make it happen together. “