By Andrew Osborn

MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected the central arguments for U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetorical U-turn on the war in Ukraine, as nationalists and political insiders reacted with a mixture of defiance and mockery.

Trump on Tuesday said he believed Ukraine could retake all its land controlled by Russia and that Kyiv should act now with Moscow facing “big” economic problems, in a sudden and striking rhetorical shift in Ukraine’s favour.

The Kremlin countered that the Russian economy was stable, despite problems in some sectors caused by sanctions, and that Russian forces’ slow advance in Ukraine was part of a deliberate strategy rather than a sign of weakness.

RUSSIA REJECTS TRUMP’S ‘PAPER TIGER’ COMMENT

“Russia is not a tiger but is more associat

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