The Kremlin, commenting on remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin was "playing with fire" by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv, said on Wednesday that national interests were paramount to the Russian leader.

While the Kremlin downplayed Trump's remarks about Putin, pro-Kremlin bots have launched a smear campaign against the U.S. president. The online attacks suggest that Putin may be less than pleased with Trump's sudden shift in tone, despite the U.S. president recently describing their latest phone call as having gone "very well."

It remained to be seen whether President Trump’s latest comments indicated a new aggressive phase against Russia.