Russian state media calls Trump’s midterm defeat “really painful

Vladimir Solovyov called the outcome “really painful” on his radio show Full Contact, adding that Donald Trump “lost everything” in the U.S. midterm elections, Newsweek reported.

The midterms delivered the Democrats at least 54 seats in the Senate and 240 seats in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. The results quickly drew sharp assessments across Russian state media. Commentators tied the congressional shift directly to voter frustrations over cost-of-living pressures and spiking gas prices caused by the Iran war.

Kremlin Media Reacts to the Congressional Shift

State-aligned outlets in Moscow offered bleak post-mortems for the White House. The government mouthpiece Rossiyskaya Gazeta ran an op-ed titled “Apocalypse Today,” arguing that President Trump’s active participation in campaign rallies hurt Republican candidates rather than helping them. The paper’s writer, Evgeny Shestakov, predicted that the president would now face investigations regarding corruption and enrichment. Meanwhile, the business newspaper Kommersant published the headline “Donald Trump did not live up to his own expectations,” pointing to voters delivering a rebuke at the ballot box.

Another business paper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, labeled the election a “total defeat” that would severely constrain foreign policy maneuvers. The paper noted that lawmakers would be sworn in on January 3, leaving a very narrow window of roughly two months for the administration to finalize any deals with Moscow. Similarly, the business paper RBK ran a piece under the headline “Veto instead of MAGA,” warning that losing control of Congress casts deep doubt on the White House’s capacity to settle the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Consequences for the War in Ukraine

Russian pundits interviewed by the mass-circulation tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda weighed the legislative fallout for foreign policy. Political scientist Ivan Pyatibratov stated that rapprochement between Washington and Moscow would face heavy parliamentary hurdles, noting that Democrats would likely push for expanded military aid to Ukraine and stiffer economic sanctions. Andrey Manoylo, a professor at Moscow State University, told the same paper that the loss of red-state seats exposed a serious erosion of public trust.

Solovyov specifically pointed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggesting that Kyiv’s earlier military strikes on Russian oil facilities had exacerbated fuel prices for American drivers. “Zelensky is rejoicing, he exacted his revenge against Trump and he won,” Solovyov said on his radio broadcast, describing the outcome as payback for the contentious Oval Office argument that occurred in 2025. Majda Ruge, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Newsweek that the congressional turnover could inject far greater transparency into foreign policy choices. She noted this shift likely brings upcoming congressional hearings and formal investigations into diplomatic efforts on Russia-Ukraine, the Western Balkans, Gulf states and Gaza.

Kremlin Hopes Trump Will Continue Peacekeeping Efforts

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Trump will continue his mandate, adding that they sincerely hope that he will continue his peacekeeping efforts. Peskov stated that Trump “will continue his mandate” and added that Moscow sincerely hopes the U.S. leader will pursue ongoing peacekeeping efforts. Analysts in Moscow noted that while the executive branch retains veto power to block hostile legislation, managing international agreements without congressional backing will remain an uphill battle.