A leading figure from the Kremlin expressed appreciation for Pete Hegseth’s choice of neckwear, amid allegations that the Defense Secretary’s attire sent a subtle signal of allegiance to Russia.

Kirill Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund and serves as a Special Envoy for investment and economic collaboration with Vladimir Putin, took to social media platform X to commend Hegseth’s contentious sartorial decision earlier this week.

In his post, Dmitriev included a Russian flag emoji alongside an image of Hegseth donning a tie with red, white, and blue stripes during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday.

Further fueling the controversy, Dmitriev’s tweet included an unusual nod to QANON, a conspiracy theory popular among some Trump supporters, which alleges the existence of a clandestine group of ‘deep state’ operatives controlling the U.S. government.

Adherents of this theory frequently use the acronym WWG1WGA, standing for ‘Where We Go One, We Go All,’ a phrase Dmitriev echoed in his tweet regarding Hegseth’s tie.

Additionally, Dmitriev appeared to jest at JD Vance, who suggested the tie’s colors might simply represent American patriotism, by quipping, “Or maybe he was wearing the colors of America.”

‘Maybe it is good that we have the same colors,’ Dmitriev posted back. 

Hegseth’s Russian tie debacle comes as Pentagon insiders told the Daily Mail that the Secretary has been struggling with the toll of the job, saying he has become so rattled he has often appeared to be ‘crawling out of his skin.’ 

Top Kremlin official Kirill Dmitriev celebrated Pete Hegseth’s ‘Russian tie’ after the Secretary of War was accused of sending a coded message of support to Russia this week 

Dmitriev sent a Russian flag emoji above a picture of Hegseth wearing a red, white and blue striped tie to a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday – and followed it up with a bizarre reference to QANON

Dmitriev also appeared to mock Vice President JD Vance after he pushed back on claims that Hegseth wore a Russian tie

Dmitriev’s posts come after Trump was accused by critics of bowing to Putin as he refused to give Zelensky long-range Tomahawk missiles, admitting he backed off after a phone call with the Russian leader during the week. 

Dmitriev’s prodding of White House officials led to a wave of backlash on X as some users felt the Russian was ridiculing the Trump administration following a week of high-stakes talks over the Ukraine conflict. 

Trump had previously shown openness to sending Ukraine the Tomahawk cruise missiles, even as Putin warned that such a move would escalate tensions between the US and Russia. 

Speaking on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said: ‘I might say, ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks’. 

But after a call on Thursday evening between the two leaders, Trump appeared to downplay the prospects of Ukraine getting the missiles, which can reach far into Russia and have a range of about 995 miles. 

‘We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too,’ Trump said, adding: ‘We have a lot of them, but we need them. I mean we can’t deplete our country.’

Reports indicate that Putin told Trump during their call that supplying Kyiv with the Tomahawks ‘won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries.’ 

The exchange also led another top Kremlin official to mock Trump on social media, as former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev mimicked Dmitriev as he took aim at the White House on Telegram.  

Trump was accused by critics this week of bowing to Putin after refusing to give Volodymyr Zelensky long-range Tomahawk missiles, admitting he backed off after a phone call with the Russian leader during the week

Medvedev, who has repeatedly goaded Trump on social media, wrote: ‘It has been said a hundred times in a way even understandable to the star-spangled uncle that it is impossible to distinguish nuclear Tomahawks from conventional ones in flight.

‘How should Russia respond? Exactly!’ Medvedev said on Telegram, appearing to hint that Moscow’s response would be nuclear.

‘One can only hope that this is another empty threat… Like sending nuclear submarines closer to Russia,’ he said, alluding to Trump’s statement in August that he had ordered two nuclear submarines to move within reach of Russia.  

Trump earlier warned Medvedev – a ‘failed former president of Russia’ – to ‘watch his words’ after a previous warning that the US was risking all-out war with Russia.

‘He is treading on very dangerous ground,’ said Trump.

Trump announced following Thursday’s call with Putin that he would soon meet with the Russian leader in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss ways to end the war. 

Trump announced following Thursday’s call with Putin that he would soon meet with the Russian leader (seen together at a in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss ways to end the war

The two also agreed that their senior aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would meet next week at an unspecified location.

Fresh off brokering a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas, Trump has said finding an endgame to the war in Ukraine is now his top foreign policy priority and has expressed new confidence about the prospects of getting it done.

Trump said he would hold two separate meetings with Putin and Zelensky, saying that the two leaders would not be able to hash out their differences one-on-one because of their hostility with each other.  

‘I’ll be meeting with President Putin… and tomorrow I’m meeting with President Zelensky,’ Trump said in the White House Thursday. 

‘I mean we have a problem, they don’t get along too well… this is a terrible relationship the two of them have.’