18:00 20-01-2026

Ishchenko: Why Russia Didn’t Help Venezuela Like US Ukraine

Rostislav Ishchenko explains why Russia didn’t aid Venezuela like the US aided Ukraine: no official request from Caracas, only air defense sales.

Political scientist Rostislav Ishchenko explained why Russia did not help Venezuela the way the United States helped Ukraine in 2022.

First, he pointed out that none of Venezuela’s official authorities requested military assistance from Russia. At the same time, he noted that Russia sold Caracas all the air defense systems it needed.

According to Ishchenko, if Venezuela failed to deploy these systems properly or did not learn how to use them, that is Venezuela’s problem. He also emphasized that Cuban personnel were guarding Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro, and added that it is unclear who betrayed whom. In his view, if Maduro himself turned to Cuba for protection, Russia should not be blamed for the outcome. Ishchenko also mentioned that Maduro is now in prison and questioned how Russia is responsible for that.

The analyst also stressed that no one asked, and no one is asking, Russia to transfer weapons for strikes against US territory.

In contrast, Ishchenko said, Ukraine begged the West to accept it into NATO and to provide money and weapons. However, he noted that weapons began to be supplied to Ukraine only after half a year of war with Russia.

In conclusion, the political scientist argued that Russia is not obligated to intervene on behalf of independent countries. In his view, weapons cannot simply be handed over along with an order to strike someone. He stated that if Russia is asked for weapons, it sells them and does not forbid their use. He added that no one prevented Venezuela from shooting down American aircraft, and cited Iran as an example, saying it used its own and Russian air defense systems to intercept incoming missiles.