Digest of Russian media
Enemies Yesterday, Partners Today: Russian State Media Softens Stance on US But Remains Cautious
March 21, 2025
Since Donald Trump started improving ties with Vladimir Putin, Russian news outlets have shifted their narrative on the US. Previously, they framed Russia as being at war with the West in Ukraine. Now, the rhetoric around the US is more complimentary, though still cautious.
One of Russia’s most prominent propagandists, Dmitri Kiselyov discussed the “restoration of diplomacy” between the US and Russia during a broadcast on state channel Rossiya 1. He said decisions about the war in Ukraine are being made “under the leadership of our two countries’ leaders, Putin and Trump, and under their full control.”
Kiselyov also criticized Joe Biden: “for decades, the US was preparing for conflict with Russia. Under Biden, after NATO had already opened its jaws to swallow Ukraine next, and the US had begun militarily colonizing Ukrainian territory, Russia, after all its warnings, had no choice but to counter this threat with force.”
Another well-known propagandist, Vladimir Solovyov, has spoken favorably of Trump, especially after the US president dressed down Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of February in the Oval Office. On his program, also on Rossiya 1, Solovyov stated that European leaders have much to learn from Trump.
“Trump said something that not only Zelensky should take note of, but also those European degenerates, who, by the way, have long lost the support of their own people. When Trump says he believes that Russia wants to make a deal,” Solovyov said.
What seems like a major shift in US foreign policy has led Russian propagandists to portray the US as a potential ally, though one that still cannot be fully trusted. Less than six months ago, the state-controlled weekly Argumenty i Faktyquoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov comparing the US to Nazi Germany.
“One gets the impression that just as Hitler put most of Europe, including the French, Spaniards and Norsemen, under the Nazi banners, the US is now rallying Europe to make it take the brunt of the war with Russia – so far, using certain elements of a hybrid war, but it is increasingly progressing toward a real direct conflict. Again, they are marching under Nazi banners. Only this time, that banner is flown by Volodymyr Zelensky, not Hitler,” Lavrov then told Argumenty i Fakty.
This month, however, Argumenty i Fakty has published several stories on the future of US-Russia relations. In one of them, they quoted Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, who praised the growing cooperation between Putin and Trump.
“Under the leadership of President Putin and President Trump, the world has become a much safer place,” Argumenty i Fakty quoted Dmitriev as saying.
Russian media have also widely covered the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding for RFE/RL and Voice of America. The pro-Kremlin daily Komsomolskaya Pravda published an article mocking journalists from these outlets, suggesting that they now have to hope for regime change, “but this time in the US rather than in Russia.”
“It seems that the employees of Radio Liberty will now have to suffer the consequences of what they were doing – a mix of serious accusations with propaganda-driven fabrications,” Komsomolskaya Pravda wrote.
Both RFE/RL and Voice of America had already been blocked by the Russian government and designated as “foreign agents.” In February 2024, Russian authorities also declared RFE/RL an “undesirable organization,” making any work for the outlet inside Russia illegal.
Despite the warming rhetoric, pro-Kremlin media remain wary of fully embracing a pro-US stance. Voennoye Obozreniye, a government-loyal portal for military news, published an op-ed warning that though the shift in US policy is benign, Russia must remain cautious.
“It is very good that the US no longer blames Russia for starting the war and openly acknowledges itself as the key sponsor and driving force behind the current regime,” Voennoye Obozreniye wrote. “But the excitement over renewed dialogue should not cloud our strategic vision. The Russian army must remain fully prepared for a much larger escalation and a prolonged, multi-year military confrontation, one that includes the systematic destruction of the entire Ukrainian military, even in the face of resumed arms shipments from the US and increased supplies from Western Europe.”
Shortly after a phone call between Putin and Trump on March 18, Russian media reported that Russian war symbols outside the US Embassy in Moscow, placed there two years ago, had been removed. However, the Telegram channel “Ostorozhno, Novosti” reported that workers claimed they were simply taking them down for cleaning.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, also commented on the matter on Telegram: “and about the letters outside the American embassy. They are just changing the lightbulbs. So they can be seen better.”
One of Russia’s most prominent propagandists, Dmitri Kiselyov discussed the “restoration of diplomacy” between the US and Russia during a broadcast on state channel Rossiya 1. He said decisions about the war in Ukraine are being made “under the leadership of our two countries’ leaders, Putin and Trump, and under their full control.”
Kiselyov also criticized Joe Biden: “for decades, the US was preparing for conflict with Russia. Under Biden, after NATO had already opened its jaws to swallow Ukraine next, and the US had begun militarily colonizing Ukrainian territory, Russia, after all its warnings, had no choice but to counter this threat with force.”
Another well-known propagandist, Vladimir Solovyov, has spoken favorably of Trump, especially after the US president dressed down Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of February in the Oval Office. On his program, also on Rossiya 1, Solovyov stated that European leaders have much to learn from Trump.
“Trump said something that not only Zelensky should take note of, but also those European degenerates, who, by the way, have long lost the support of their own people. When Trump says he believes that Russia wants to make a deal,” Solovyov said.
What seems like a major shift in US foreign policy has led Russian propagandists to portray the US as a potential ally, though one that still cannot be fully trusted. Less than six months ago, the state-controlled weekly Argumenty i Faktyquoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov comparing the US to Nazi Germany.
“One gets the impression that just as Hitler put most of Europe, including the French, Spaniards and Norsemen, under the Nazi banners, the US is now rallying Europe to make it take the brunt of the war with Russia – so far, using certain elements of a hybrid war, but it is increasingly progressing toward a real direct conflict. Again, they are marching under Nazi banners. Only this time, that banner is flown by Volodymyr Zelensky, not Hitler,” Lavrov then told Argumenty i Fakty.
This month, however, Argumenty i Fakty has published several stories on the future of US-Russia relations. In one of them, they quoted Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, who praised the growing cooperation between Putin and Trump.
“Under the leadership of President Putin and President Trump, the world has become a much safer place,” Argumenty i Fakty quoted Dmitriev as saying.
Russian media have also widely covered the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding for RFE/RL and Voice of America. The pro-Kremlin daily Komsomolskaya Pravda published an article mocking journalists from these outlets, suggesting that they now have to hope for regime change, “but this time in the US rather than in Russia.”
“It seems that the employees of Radio Liberty will now have to suffer the consequences of what they were doing – a mix of serious accusations with propaganda-driven fabrications,” Komsomolskaya Pravda wrote.
Both RFE/RL and Voice of America had already been blocked by the Russian government and designated as “foreign agents.” In February 2024, Russian authorities also declared RFE/RL an “undesirable organization,” making any work for the outlet inside Russia illegal.
Despite the warming rhetoric, pro-Kremlin media remain wary of fully embracing a pro-US stance. Voennoye Obozreniye, a government-loyal portal for military news, published an op-ed warning that though the shift in US policy is benign, Russia must remain cautious.
“It is very good that the US no longer blames Russia for starting the war and openly acknowledges itself as the key sponsor and driving force behind the current regime,” Voennoye Obozreniye wrote. “But the excitement over renewed dialogue should not cloud our strategic vision. The Russian army must remain fully prepared for a much larger escalation and a prolonged, multi-year military confrontation, one that includes the systematic destruction of the entire Ukrainian military, even in the face of resumed arms shipments from the US and increased supplies from Western Europe.”
Shortly after a phone call between Putin and Trump on March 18, Russian media reported that Russian war symbols outside the US Embassy in Moscow, placed there two years ago, had been removed. However, the Telegram channel “Ostorozhno, Novosti” reported that workers claimed they were simply taking them down for cleaning.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, also commented on the matter on Telegram: “and about the letters outside the American embassy. They are just changing the lightbulbs. So they can be seen better.”
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Sofia Sorochinskaia
Russia.Post
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