Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to US President Donald Trump’s remarks calling Russia a “paper tiger,” suggesting NATO itself might be one and warning that supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could trigger a dangerous escalation.
Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Group in Sochi, Putin said Russian forces were advancing along the entire front in Ukraine and that nearly all of the U.S.-led NATO alliance was now effectively fighting against Russia.
“A paper tiger. What follows then? Go and deal with this paper tiger,” Putin said. “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’s comments came after Trump, who recently met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the UN General Assembly, reversed his earlier rhetoric and said Ukraine could reclaim all territory from Russia.
After meeting Zelenskyy at the UN, Trump called Russia a “paper tiger,” claiming Ukraine, with EU support, could reclaim all its territory from Moscow.
Putin poured irony on European claims of Russian drones invading NATO airspace, joking that he promised not to fly drones over Denmark and that Moscow did not have drones capable of reaching Lisbon. European authorities have accused Russia of repeated airspace violations, including drone incursions over Poland and fighter jets over Estonia.
On the U.S. supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, Putin warned, “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.” The U.S. has not yet announced a decision on supplying the weapons.
Putin also addressed NATO’s role, saying members were providing Ukraine with intelligence, weapons, and training, while stirring what he described as hysteria about alleged Russian plans to attack NATO countries.
“If anyone still has a desire to compete with us in the military sphere, as we say, feel free, let them try,” he said. “Russia’s countermeasures will not be long in coming."
Putin portrayed the war as a pivotal moment in Moscow’s relations with the West, which he claimed had humiliated Russia after the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse through NATO expansion. He accused Western European leaders and Ukraine of framing the war as an imperial-style land grab.
“I just want to say: Cool down, sleep calmly, and take care of your own problems. Just take a look at what's happening on the streets of European cities,” Putin added, highlighting what he described as weaknesses in Europe’s own domestic affairs.
He also suggested Ukraine’s forces were suffering from manpower shortages and desertions, while Russia maintained sufficient troop levels, and he encouraged Kyiv to negotiate an end to the conflict. According to him, Russia controlled nearly all of Luhansk province, about 81% of Donetsk, and roughly 75% of both Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
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