Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia Editor

Image source, Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters

Kamala Harris told Donald Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a dictator who will eat you for lunch.”

The expression “eating someone for lunch” (or breakfast, or any other meal) doesn’t exist in Russian. But one thing you will find in Moscow is the hunger for an American election outcome that benefits Russia.

The Kremlin will have noted (with pleasure) that Trump dodged the question in the debate about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war.

“I want the war to stop,” Trump responded.

Harris, on the other hand, spoke of the “righteous defense” of Ukraine and claimed that Putin “has his eyes on the rest of Europe.”

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, downplayed the importance of the debate in public comments.

“It’s like two famous boxers fighting on the Titanic,” Ms. Zakharova told Sputnik radio.

“At the end of the fight, people ask, ‘Who won?’ But does it matter? This is the Titanic. In 15 minutes, they’re going to hit the iceberg.”

Last week, Putin claimed he supported Harris in the election and praised her “infectious laugh.”

Later, a Russian state television anchorwoman noted that the Kremlin leader was being “somewhat ironic,” questioning whether the American vice president was a serious politician and suggesting that she would be better off hosting a cooking show on TV.

Could such a show consist of “dictators” eating American presidential candidates “for lunch”…?