Russia backs Trump for Nobel Peace Prize ahead of announcement

Russia backs Trump Nobel candidacy

Russia has expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s potential Nobel Peace Prize candidacy, with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov telling state news agency TASS on Friday that Moscow would back the American leader.

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner is scheduled to be announced at 0900 GMT on Friday, though experienced observers of the prestigious award say a Trump victory is highly unlikely.

Russia has repeatedly expressed gratitude for Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in remarks published on Thursday that Kyiv would nominate Trump for the Nobel, which the president has openly coveted, should he succeed in securing a ceasefire.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the Peace Prize in Oslo, is set to reveal the winner on Friday. Experts note the committee typically emphasises long-lasting peace, the promotion of international fraternity, and the often quiet work of institutions dedicated to those objectives.

There has been persistent speculation about Trump’s prospects, partly driven by the president himself. Yet, Nobel watchers insist his chances remain remote despite the notable foreign policy interventions for which he has claimed credit.

The Peace Research Institute Oslo has highlighted several potential laureates, including Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms, a community-led network central to humanitarian efforts amid the country’s civil war; the International Court of Justice; the International Criminal Court; and the Committee to Protect Journalists, a U.S.-based organisation promoting press freedom and recording journalists killed in the line of duty.

Last year’s award went to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors who have long worked to maintain a taboo against the use of nuclear weapons.

Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, the Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo. The remaining prizes — medicine, physics, chemistry, literature — have already been announced in Stockholm this week, while the economics prize is due on Monday.