Kremlin, responding to Trump's 'fighting children' comment, says Ukraine war is existential

Moscow: The Kremlin said on Friday that the war in Ukraine was an existential question for Russia, after US President Donald Trump likened it to a playground fight.

"Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy, they hate each other and they're fighting in a park," Trump said on Thursday. "Sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart," he added.

Asked about the comment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Here, of course, the US president may have his own point of view on what is happening, but for us this is an existential question - this is a question of our national interests, this is a question of our security and the future of ourselves and our children, the future of our country."

Peskov said Moscow was grateful to the US for its mediation efforts, and it was important that contacts with Washington should continue.