Venezuela from the Russian perspective
It is difficult to overstate the level of frustration across Russian social media over the American move in Venezuela. There is hardly a single Russian military blogger who has not addressed it. The reaction on the Russian side revolves around two main axes.
The first axis is dominated by frustration that, once again, Russian systems – especially Russian air-defense systems – were caught completely unprepared. Russian commentators complain that, once again, their allies proved incompetent and unable to properly operate the equipment they were given, making Russian hardware appear ineffective.
Added to this is concern over the geopolitical consequences: the Maduro regime was seen as a close ally of the Kremlin – and that ally is now gone. Another fear frequently raised is that once infrastructure is restored, the United States could impose a global oil price ceiling of roughly $50 per barrel due to its control over production in Venezuela.
The second axis is captured by the most common phrase circulating on Russian Telegram over the past week:
а что так можно?
“So… you can actually do that?”
Despite everything mentioned above, most of the Russian frustration stems from the fact that the Americans succeeded precisely where the Russians failed. Anger over the successful arrest of Maduro is almost always accompanied by sharp criticism of the Kremlin’s actions at the start of the war and Russia’s failed attempt to seize Kyiv.
In the image: a modern Russian-made Buk air-defense system in Venezuela after receiving American “treatment”.
(David Lisovtsev)
