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By Brendan Cole and Shane Croucher
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Russia said it could not confirm the veracity of President Donald Trump's claim that he told Russian President Vladimir Putin he would bomb Moscow if Ukraine was invaded.
Audio of Trump speaking at a private meeting with fundraisers in 2024 about a conversation with Putin was broadcast by CNN.
"The fact is that there were no telephone conversations then," said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, state news agency Tass reported.
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"After all, we are talking, as far as I understand, about the period when Trump was not yet the president of the United States," he added.
When asked about the audio recording, the White House told Newsweek on Wednesday that "as President Trump has said time and again, Russia never dared invade Ukraine when he was in office."
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment.
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Why It Matters
CNN said the audio was from 2024 but it is not immediately clear when exactly the alleged conversation between Putin and Trump took place.
Peskov's comments Wednesday effectively reject Trump's claims made in the audio that he had warned Putin against attacking Ukraine—at least during the Biden administration.
In November, the Kremlin said a Washington Post report that Putin had spoken by phone with Trump after the U.S. election was false, a denial many analysts did not believe. Peskov's latest remarks will add to diplomatic intrigue between the U.S. and Russia at a time when Trump is stepping up his criticism of Putin.
What To Know
In the CNN report, Trump can been heard describing to donors while on the campaign trail how he had separately warned both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping he would bomb their respective capitals if either of them invaded their neighbors.
The audio was obtained by journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, although it is not clear when the conversations with Putin and Xi were alleged to have taken place.
Regarding Russia, Trump said he had told Putin, "if you go into Ukraine, I'm gonna bomb the s*** out of Moscow,'" which was met with disbelief from the Russian leader, according to the U.S. president's account.
Peskov was asked about the alleged exchange and told reporters Wednesday that there were no telephone conversations between Putin and Trump when the latter was not the president of the U.S.
Peskov, whose remarks were originally in Russian, said: "I work in Russia, thank God."
"Whether this is fake or not, we also do not know. There are a lot of fakes now. Often, there are many more fakes than true information. And we always proceed from this when we analyze certain news," Peskov added.
When asked about the audio, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Newsweek in a statement that "Russia never dared invade Ukraine" when Trump was president "it happened only when Biden was in office."
"Thanks to this President's leadership, America is once again the leader of the free world, and peace through strength is restored," the statement added.
Russian media have been reacting to Trump's growing criticism of Putin, the most recent being on Tuesday when he accused the Russian leader of peddling "bulls***" over his intentions in Ukraine, after rejecting U.S. ceasefire proposals.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, per CNN: "With Putin, I said 'If you go into Ukraine, I'm gonna bomb the s*** out of Moscow…I'm telling you, I have no choice'…so he goes like, 'I don't believe you.' He said, 'No way.' And I said, 'Way.'"
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to Tass: "There were no telephone conversations then. After all, as far as I understand, we are talking about the period when Trump was not yet the president of the United States."
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly: "Thanks to this President's leadership, America is once again the leader of the free world, and peace through strength is restored. President Trump won on an America First agenda, and he is working hard to implement the mandate the American people gave him."
What Happens Next
After concerns over a pause in the supply of some weapons to Kyiv, Trump has pledged to provide more military help. There will be anticipation over whether his reported comments will add to pressure on Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Update 7/9/25, 2:15 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with a White House statement.
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