When the Kremlin Cheers: What Russia’s Applause for Trump Might Tell Us

Kremlin Towers

There is a principle in strategic thinking worth remembering: when your adversary celebrates your actions, pause and consider why.

On January 19, 2026, the front page of Rossiyskaya Gazeta — the official newspaper of the Russian government — ran a headline that should give every American (and not only every American in my opinion) pause: ”Greenland — NATO’s Cemetery?”

The article, written by Evgeny Shestakov, does not merely report on President Trump’s territorial ambitions. It cheers them on.

## What Russia’s Official Newspaper Says

The piece opens with an extraordinary proposition: if Trump succeeds in annexing Greenland by July 4, 2026 — the 250th anniversary of American independence — he will “undoubtedly enter the ranks of historical figures who established America’s greatness.”

Let that sink in. The Kremlin’s official publication is comparing Trump’s potential seizure of allied territory to the achievements of the Founding Fathers.

The article goes further:

• It warns Trump against backing down, suggesting retreat would harm Republicans in the midterm elections

• It mocks European leaders — particularly Denmark, Britain, and France — for their resistance

• It frames NATO’s unity as an obstacle to be overcome, not a strength to be preserved

• It suggests that American acquisition of Greenland would make the United States “the second-largest country in the world by territory after Russia”

Meanwhile, the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets put it more bluntly: watching Europe’s confusion over Greenland is “a pleasure.”

## The Strategic Logic Behind Moscow’s Applause

Russia’s enthusiasm is not rooted in affection for American expansion. Moscow gains nothing from a larger United States in any direct sense. The calculus is different, and to be honest, quite cynical.

First, NATO fractures. Every threat Trump makes against Denmark — a NATO ally — weakens the alliance that has contained Russian ambitions for seven decades. Article 5, the collective defense guarantee, means nothing if members threaten each other’s territory.

Second, norms erode. When the world’s most powerful democracy abandons the principle that borders cannot be changed by force or coercion, it validates the very logic Russia used to justify its invasion of Ukraine. If America can claim Greenland because it wants it, why couldn’t Russia claim Crimea? Or Donbas? Or all of Ukraine?

Third, attention diverts. Every day Western capitals spend managing Trump’s demands is a day not spent coordinating support for Ukraine, strengthening European defense, or countering Russian influence operations.

Strategic patience

## The Propaganda Value

There is another dimension worth considering: what this coverage does inside Russia.

For years, the Kremlin has told its citizens that Western talk of “rules-based international order” is hypocrisy — that powerful nations take what they want, and the only difference is that America pretends otherwise. Trump’s Greenland gambit is, for Russian state media, a gift.

“See?” the coverage implies. “America is no different. They lecture us about Ukraine while plotting to seize territory from their own allies. At least we are honest about power.”

This is the deeper damage. Not merely the diplomatic friction or the alliance strain, but the erosion of the moral distinction between democracies that respect sovereignty and autocracies that do not.

When a Russian government newspaper can plausibly frame America’s actions using the same logic Moscow uses to justify its wars, something fundamental has shifted.

## A Note on Cheerleaders

There is wisdom in noticing who applauds to our actions.

If your policy is celebrated by those who wish you ill, it does not automatically mean the policy is wrong. But it should prompt reflection. What do they see that you might be missing? What consequences are they anticipating that you have not considered?

When Vladimir Putin’s official newspaper urges Donald Trump forward — when it compares his territorial ambitions to the work of Lincoln and the Founders — the question is not whether Russia’s opinion matters. The question is: *why the *** are they so pleased?

The answer, I suspect, is not flattering to American interests.

## What This Means for Europe

For those of us watching from across the Atlantic, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta coverage confirms what many have feared: the current American administration’s actions serve Russian strategic interests, whether by design or by indifference.

This does not mean conspiracy. It may simply mean alignment of short-term impulses with long-term adversary goals. Trump wants Greenland; Russia wants NATO weakened. The desires are different, but the outcome is the same.

Europe’s task, then, is clear: to strengthen its own capacity for defense and diplomacy, to maintain unity in the face of both external pressure and internal division, and to preserve the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that have kept the peace for eighty years — even when the nation that once championed those principles no longer does.

## A Final Thought

There is an old intelligence maxim: watch what your enemies want you to do, then consider doing the opposite.

Russia wants America to pursue Greenland. Russia wants NATO divided. Russia wants the rules-based order discredited.

Perhaps that, more than any argument about strategy or economics, should give American policymakers pause. When the Kremlin is your cheerleader, you might want to reconsider the game you’re playing.

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This is the third in a series reflecting on democratic values in an age of uncertainty. Previous essays examined the American situation (“When Empires Turn Inward”) and Europe’s potential response (“What If Europe Stood Its Ground”).

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