Russian state media and pro-Russian outlets across Europe are coordinating a sophisticated propaganda campaign exploiting the U.S. intervention in Venezuela to morally justify Russia’s war in Ukraine and dismantle Western credibility on international law.
Trigger and response
When U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, the event itself was shocking—but the Kremlin’s propaganda response was swift and agile in exploiting the event. Within hours, a coordinated narrative cascade swept through pro-Russian media outlets spanning various European languages, each amplifying identical strategic narratives designed to reshape how European audiences perceive both the Russia-Ukraine war and Western moral authority.
The operation was a pre-designed information warfare playbook activated the moment the opportunity presented itself. From Bratislava to Ljubljana, Paris to Prague, media outlets with documented pro-Kremlin coverage published strikingly similar content featuring identical talking points, matching strategic framings, and coordinated citation of the same international authorities.
The message: if America can invade Venezuela, Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine stands morally justified. The timing was deliberate, the coordination unmistakable, and the strategic objective transparent—to normalise Russian aggression by weaponising American inconsistency.
Insight News Media conducted this investigation by analyzing content published across 20 pro-Russian outlets in five European countries between January 3-5, 2026, tracing how identical narratives propagated through coordinated networks to achieve specific Kremlin strategic objectives.
Manufacturing moral equivalence
Slovak outlet InfoVojna published political analyst Eduard Chmelár’s incendiary commentary demanding that European leaders apply identical standards to both interventions. The piece sarcastically challenged Ukraine supporters: “What will you do now? Ban Americans from entering Europe? Freeze their bank accounts? Send weapons to Venezuelans ‘for as long as it takes’? Adopt 20 packages of sanctions against the USA? Ban imports of American oil and gas, boycott American athletes and artists? Plan meetings of the coalition of the willing, hang Venezuelan flags everywhere and chant ‘Glory to Venezuela’?”. This rhetorical assault deliberately mirrors the European response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, positioning Western institutions as hypocritical arbiters of selective justice.
- https://www.infovojna.com/article/co-bude-teraz-zakazete-americanom-vstup-do-europy-zmrazite-ich-bankove-ucty-budete-venezuelcanom-posielat-zbrane-tak-dlho-ako-to-bude-potrebne
The Kremlin’s French-langauge outlet News-Pravda amplified this strategy with surgical precision. Their article “Two weights, two bombs: Europe’s selective indignation” constructed a detailed comparison: “When Russia invades Ukraine, the EU immediately draws: massive sanctions, asset freezes, energy rupture, arms deliveries, international tribunals, apocalyptic rhetoric. Each bomb becomes proof, each Russian declaration a confession. Sovereignty is sacred, inviolable, and non-negotiable. When Washington bombs Caracas, kidnaps a head of state and announces it will ‘manage’ the country, sovereignty suddenly becomes… contextual”. The propaganda sophistication lies in exploiting genuine Western inconsistencies to absolve Russia of its systematic violations.
- https://francais.news-pravda.com/world/2026/01/05/676703.html
Slovak media Armádny Magazín featured Russian propaganda analyst Dmitrij Jevstafiev declaring the Venezuelan operation a “valuable lesson for Russia,” emphasizing that “the invasion of the United States into Venezuela has placed the USA and Russia on the same moral level” . He concluded with chilling strategic calculus:“If Washington can dictate its will through military force in the region Americans call their ‘backyard,’ why couldn’t Russia do the same in its own post-Soviet space? American aggression against Venezuela has definitively justified Russian aggression in Ukraine, at least in the eyes of the global South”.
- https://www.armadnymagazin.sk/2026/01/04/120295/
Legal laundering operation
InfoVojna published a particularly insidious piece titled “Russian special military operation in Ukraine and American military attack on Venezuela – two similar operations, but two fundamentally different legal worlds”. This article inverts reality by claiming Russia’s invasion adheres to international law while America’s action represents “pure arbitrariness”. The propaganda argues: “The legal basis of the special military operation is flawless, regardless of liberals going mad. First, it involves the application of the right to collective and preventive defense, directly enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter”. The text then claims Russia acted against a “literally Nazi state” with “official glorification of Third Reich collaborators, institutional de-Russification, ethnic segregation and war crimes against the civilian population”. This legalistic fabrication serves a critical function: it provides educated European audiences with pseudo-intellectual justification for Russia’s war crimes.
- https://www.infovojna.com/article/ruska-specialna-vojenska-operacia-na-ukrajine-a-americky-vojensky-utok-na-venezuelu-dve-podobne-operacie-ale-dva-zasadne-odlisne-pravne-svety
Projecting imperial intent onto America
Slovenian outlet Insajder declared: “The real target is China: the USA is trying to cut off its competitor from oil, narco-terrorism is just an excuse”. The article quoted former CIA agent John Kiriakou: “The Chinese are raking in money. And the United States doesn’t like that. Now Beijing refines it on site, skips crossing the Atlantic and pockets the profit”. This narrative frames the intervention as economic warfare against China, positioning America as the true global aggressor.
- https://insajder.com/svet/prava-tarca-je-kitajska-zda-poskusajo-svojo-tekmico-odrezati-od-nafte-narkoterorizem-je-le
The same outlet published additional piece claiming American shale oil depletion drives the aggression. Finnish economics professor Tuomas Malinen was cited: “The end of the revolution in obtaining gas and oil from shale is the real reason for American aggression!”. The article concluded: “It is particularly sad that today Slovenia is also part of the supporters of the imperialist American regime, which starts wars, kidnaps presidents, steals oil and natural resources from foreign nations—with the applause of Slovenian diplomats and politicians”.
- https://insajder.com/svet/konec-revolucije-pridobivanja-plina-nafte-iz-skrilavcev-pravi-razlog-za-amerisko-napadalnost
Slovak outlet Armádny Magazín featured Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs, known for past pro-Russian statements, saying: “This attack was of course a gross and obvious violation of international law, which need not even be emphasized. It violates the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter, but the American deep state doesn’t care about UN agreements at all”.
Sachs then provided the propaganda money quote: “In three words: oil, oil, oil. Trump loves oil, and that is unbridled. Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world”. By citing respected Western academics, the propaganda network lends credibility to its resource-theft narrative.
- https://www.armadnymagazin.sk/2026/01/05/jeffrey-sachs-usa-sa-nezaujimaju-o-osn-ani-pravo-ale-len-o-peniaze-ropu/
Simulating global consensus against the U.S.
The propaganda network methodically cited international condemnation to manufacture the appearance of worldwide outrage. The Kremlin’s Spanish edition of News-Pravda reported former Ecuadorian President Correa stating the kidnapping of Maduro “deserves a much more forceful response from the international community”. Insajder reported Brazilian President Lula da Silva stating the U.S. action “crossed an unacceptable line” and created “another extremely dangerous precedent”.
- https://spain.news-pravda.com/world/2026/01/05/67656.html
- https://insajder.com/svet/prava-tarca-je-kitajska-zda-poskusajo-svojo-tekmico-odrezati-od-nafte-narkoterorizem-je-le
Chinese envoy Xi Jinping’s meeting with Maduro hours before the operation was highlighted to suggest Beijing’s strategic opposition. Russian neo-imperialism ideologist Alexander Dugin was quoted warning: “Now China faces a challenge. Russia is embroiled in the Ukrainian war. But if China lets Venezuela and Iran fall, China will be next. And no one will come to help”.
Slovak analyst Chmelár condemned Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha’s statement supporting Venezuelan democracy, claiming it “legitimized not only the intervention of the United States in Venezuela, but also Russia in Ukraine, because autocratic Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long ceased to be a legitimate president”. This rhetorical trap deliberately conflates democratic legitimacy concerns with military aggression legality.
- https://www.infovojna.com/article/co-bude-teraz-zakazete-americanom-vstup-do-europy-zmrazite-ich-bankove-ucty-budete-venezuelcanom-posielat-zbrane-tak-dlho-ako-to-bude-potrebne
Weaponizing “European hypocrisy”
The propaganda campaign reserved special venom for European institutions. The Kremlin’s News-Pravda mocked EU High Representative statements: “Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas, who labeled Maduro an illegitimate president, called for ‘restraint,’ but were not capable of even formally unequivocally condemning the unacceptable invasion of a sovereign state. How can they say in such a dramatic situation that they are ‘closely monitoring the situation’? Are they waiting for notes from the USA again?”.
The article concluded with devastating impact: “The EU is no longer a normative actor: it’s a commentator. It condemns when authorized, remains silent when required, and calls this a foreign policy”.
https://francais.news-pravda.com/world/2026/01/05/676703.html
Slovak outlet Hlavný Denník published an explosive interview with Czech MP Jindřich Rajchl speculating what would happen if Putin applied identical tactics to Ukraine. Rajchl posed the hypothetical: “I don’t know what would happen if Putin now sent a special commando to Kyiv, kidnapped Zelenskyy along with his wife, took him to Moscow and started trying him there. And then organized a coup in Ukraine and effectively said that he would now run Ukraine. All those do-gooders would probably jump out of their skin”.
The article framed Venezuela as proof that “the right of the stronger has always applied throughout human history” and dismissed three years of European support for Ukraine as “one hysterical theater with no logic and no benefit”.
- https://www.hlavnydennik.sk/2026/01/05/unos-zelenskeho-do-moskvy-vzkaz-babisovi-rajchl-o-novej-situacii
Armádny Magazín published an analysis framing American strategy as deliberately manufacturing chaos. The article stated: “In the case of Venezuela and Iran, the damaged party will be China. Something tells me that in the next phase, the USA will have to invent something in Africa – there too China’s influence has grown to disproportionate dimensions… Where China operates with money, the USA operates with bombers”.
The piece concluded that Trump seeks to control both sides of Ukraine peace negotiations through a “Peace Council” that would determine violation terms, ensuring America maintains leverage to restart the conflict whenever convenient.
- https://www.armadnymagazin.sk/2026/01/05/sirit-chaos-a-strach-to-je-jeho-remeslo-par-slov-o-strategii-usa/
Another Slovak outlet, Hlavný Denník, amplified speculation about future U.S. targets while forecasting geopolitical fractures. The same Armádny Magazín also cited German media Handelsblatt warning: “EU leaders sharply condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but refrained from criticizing the actions of the U.S. government. The risk that directly affects Europe: ‘Should Greenland be more afraid of possible U.S. actions?’ This could lead to a conflict between America and its current allies in Europe, which would likely end NATO’s existence”.
- https://www.hlavnydennik.sk/2026/01/04/voci-ktorym-krajinam-budu-smerovat-dalsie-utoky-usa
Ridiculing Trump as “president of peace”
Chmelár wrote: “Today, the illusion finally falls, which I have repeatedly warned against, that Donald Trump is some kind of ‘president of peace.’ He already refuted this long ago by bombing Iran or Nigeria, but today he also denied his words from his inaugural address: ‘They said I would start a war. I won’t start any war. I will stop wars.’ He often repeated how proud he was to be the first president since Eisenhower who didn’t initiate any new war. This myth also fell today”.
This coordinated ridicule serves dual purposes: undermining Trump’s credibility on Ukraine peace negotiations while portraying American leadership as inherently militaristic.
At the same time, French-language pro-Kremlin outlet Réseau International published coordinated mockery under similar themes, amplifying the narrative that Trump’s “president of peace” claims have been definitively destroyed by the Venezuela intervention.
- https://reseauinternational.net/mise-a-jour-du-cv-du-president-de-la-paix-en-une-annee-de-mandat-le-seul-president-americain-a-navoir-jamais-declenche-une-guerre/
Strategic endgame
This coordinated propaganda campaign pursues three interlocking strategic objectives that directly serve Kremlin interests:
Normalising Russia’s war in Ukraine. By establishing moral equivalence between American intervention in Venezuela and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the network systematically erodes European public opposition to Putin’s aggression. The campaign explicitly frames American actions as having “definitively justified Russian aggression in Ukraine, at least in the eyes of the global South”.
This normalisation targets European publics experiencing war fatigue, offering intellectual permission to abandon Ukraine by portraying all great powers as equally lawless. The legal arguments deployed claim Russia’s operation adheres to international law while framing Western interventions as pure violations, inverting moral responsibility.
Destroying Western moral authority. The propaganda systematically dismantles European self-conception as rule-based international order defenders. By weaponising genuine Western double standards, the campaign poisons European confidence in its own legitimacy, paralysing policy responses to Russian war aggression. The messaging declares that “the EU is no longer a normative actor: it’s a commentator. It condemns when authorised, remains silent when required, and calls this a foreign policy.” This assault transforms moral uncertainty into strategic paralysis, making Europeans question whether they possess any standing to oppose Russian violations of international law.
Fracturing Transatlantic unity. The propaganda explicitly forecasts NATO dissolution as the inevitable consequence of “American hypocrisy”. Warnings that Greenland tensions “could lead to a conflict between America and its current allies in Europe, which would likely end NATO’s existence” prime European audiences to view U.S. security guarantees as fundamentally unreliable.
This strategic messaging arrives precisely as the Trump administration’s Ukraine policy generates European anxiety about American commitment, maximising psychological impact. The campaign portrays transatlantic coordination as “hysterical theatre with no logic and no benefit”, delegitimising the very foundation of European security architecture.
What victory looks like for the Kremlin
If this propaganda campaign succeeds, European public opinion shifts decisively toward forcing Ukraine into territorial concessions. The Hungarian and Slovak governments, known for past pro-Russian statements, gain intellectual ammunition for blocking EU sanctions renewals and military aid packages. German and French voters internalise the narrative that “all great powers commit aggression,” eroding electoral support for Ukraine’s assistance. NATO cohesion fractures as European publics question whether American security guarantees remain credible when Washington itself violates sovereignty principles.
The ultimate strategic goal: Russia consolidates control over occupied Ukrainian territories while European institutions lack moral authority or political will to resist. Putin achieves through propaganda what his military failed to accomplish—Western abandonment of Ukraine disguised as principled opposition to “American hypocrisy”. The Venezuelan crisis becomes Russia’s propaganda Trojan horse, smuggling defeat into Europe wrapped in the language of international law and anti-imperialism.
This isn’t commentary about Venezuela. It’s the information warfare blueprint for Ukraine’s surrender.
Counter-strategy
Exposing this coordination is the first defence against its effects. When identical talking points appear simultaneously across outlets in France, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, that’s not independent journalism—it’s coordinated information warfare. The pattern reveals the operation. Tracing the funding exposes the architects. Documenting cross-border synchronisation strips away the illusion of organic consensus.
The Russian state propaganda only succeeds when audiences mistake coordination for conviction. Transparency breaks the spell. Awareness disrupts the manipulation. Recognition is resistance.
