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- Diversion of events: the Russian Foreign Ministry warned of Kiev's provocations before Biden's departure
Diversion of events: the Russian Foreign Ministry warned of Kiev's provocations before Biden's departure
Ukraine may go for terrorist or sabotage measures in the final days of the Joe Biden administration, and such fears are well-founded. Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestiya. According to him, Kiev seeks to prevent any options for establishing a dialog between the Russian Federation and the United States. In recent days, drone attacks have become more frequent, there was also an attempt to hit a critical energy infrastructure facility - the Turkish Stream. At the same time, earlier Joe Biden delivered a farewell address at the State Department, where he urged to support Washington's current course towards Moscow. What provocations to expect from the outgoing Democrats and how it affects the possibility of negotiations between Russia and the United States on Ukraine - in the material of "Izvestia".
Kiev intensifies provocations
Less than a week is left before Donald Trump becomes the master of the White House. Many expect that with the arrival of the Republican, the US approach to the Ukrainian conflict may change. The Russian Foreign Ministry does not rule out that on the eve of the inauguration, Ukraine may launch new provocations and aggressive actions.
- "Fears that terrorist or sabotage measures could be used in the last days of the Democrats' presence in the Oval Office are well-founded," Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestia. - These days are very tense. Zelensky and his entourage are showing extreme nervousness. And it is mainly aimed at preventing any options for establishing a dialog between the United States and Russia. Because, in fact, any option to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine is politically lethal for Zelensky and his entourage.
The last few days have been marked by the intensification of Ukrainian strikes on the Russian rear. Thus, on the night of January 14, drones attacked a fuel storage facility in Engels. Almost simultaneously, a drone hit a gas tank in Kazan, and an attempt was made to attack a chemical plant in the town of Seltso in the Bryansk region. In general, on the night of January 14, Russian regions were subjected to the largest attack of missiles and UAVs in 2025 - 146 drones (180 in total) and several missiles were shot down outside the NWO zone. At the same time, Ukraine obviously failed to cause significant damage to Russian infrastructure.
Ukraine's unprecedented attacks at the end of last year - the assassination in Moscow of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, and a large-scale drone attack on Kazan - should also be remembered.
Drone attack on Kazan
- "It seems that the main purpose of the Kiev regime's inconsistency and aggressiveness is to provoke Russia into radical actions that will prevent the West, represented by President Trump, who is capable of giving the green light to negotiations, from thinking about them," Grigory Yarygin, an associate professor at St. Petersburg State University's American Studies Department, said in a conversation with Izvestia.
Recent days have also seen attempts at energy terrorism. For example, on January 11, Ukrainian drones tried to hit the Russkaya compressor station in Gai-Kodzor in Krasnodar Krai, through which gas is supplied by Turkish Stream. However, all nine drones were shot down, and the attack itself had no effect on fuel supplies. Kiev's actions were condemned not only by Russia, but also by Turkey and Ukraine's European allies. The European Commission diplomatically stated that it was "concerned" about the attack on the energy infrastructure. However, the White House did not react in any way.
On January 14, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the United States was giving its permission to carry out terrorist attacks against energy infrastructure. He added: "Washington is coaxing its Ukrainian clients to take out the Turkish Streams now following the Nord Streams."
The Biden administration is pandering to Kiev
If we continue to talk about strikes on the energy sector, it is impossible not to mention the new sanctions that marked the last days of Joe Biden's administration. On January 10, his office adopted sweeping sanctions against the Russian oil industry, which caused a sharp rise in prices (the price for a barrel of Brent went over $80).
Thus, the sanctions list included Gazprom Neft and its head Alexander Dyukov, Surgutneftegaz, as well as the head of Zarubezhneft, Sergei Kudryashov. In addition, restrictions were imposed on Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev. The list also included Gazprom's medium-tonnage plant for liquefaction of natural gas on the Baltic coast "Gazprom LNG Portovaya", about 100 vessels involved in the transportation of hydrocarbons of the Russian Federation and insurance companies Ingosstrakh and AlfaStrakhovanie. In total, sanctions were imposed against more than 200 companies and individuals associated with the Russian energy sector.
The new restrictions were imposed just five days later. The expanded list published on January 15 included, in particular, Zaporizhzhya NPP, Patriot exhibition center and Voentorg JSC. A number of legal entities from China, Turkey, UAE and other countries were also under restrictions. The measures also apply to 16 citizens of Russia, Turkey and Germany.
The Biden administration seeks to narrow the maneuvering field for the forthcoming presidential administration, Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor of the political theory department of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, PhD in political science, noted in a conversation with Izvestia.
- Such actions will obviously be the basis for a tougher reaction from the Russian side. Moreover, in this case, the outgoing Democrats are not interested in low energy prices. The global supply chain is being disrupted, which will prevent Trump from lowering energy prices and thereby reducing inflation in the country in line with his campaign promises," he said.
It should be noted that back in November, the White House approved the use of American long-range weapons by the AFU for strikes deep into Russian territory. Following the US, France and the UK made a similar decision, authorizing Kiev to use SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles. This caused an immediate spiral of escalation in Western-Russian relations. In response, Moscow struck Ukraine for the first time with a medium-range Oreshnik ballistic missile.
Which could affect Russian Federation-U.S. negotiations
Evidence of the encouragement of Kiev's actions by the outgoing US administration can be seen in Joe Biden's farewell speech at the State Department the day before, where he once again demonstrated his commitment to the chosen anti-Russian course and called for further support for Ukraine.
Ivan Loshkarev, an associate professor at the Political Theory Department of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, believes that Ukraine's actions are partly connected with attempts to spoil the general negotiation background.
- There are only a few days left, but surprises are still possible, including new sanctions, loud phrases, and attempts at a counter-offensive," the analyst said.
It is worth recalling that the White House had virtually no reaction to the undermining of the Crimean bridge by an overwater drone in July 2023. In addition, the United States turned a blind eye to the murder of Russian political scientist Darya Dugina and war correspondent Maxim Fomin (known as Vladlen Tatarsky).
Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and police officers inspecting the scene where journalist and political scientist Darya Dugina was murdered
At the same time, many are now expecting a possible meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. About its preparation the day before reported the future national security adviser of the American Michael Waltz. Trump himself gave himself more time to resolve the conflict - from 24 hours to six months.
The President-elect's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg talked about three months. The US expects that a meeting between the leaders could take place in the next six months. However, the Kremlin notes that so far there are no substantive preparations for the talks, and there is only a "declared understanding and political will that such contacts would be very, very necessary and expedient."
- Theoretically, a meeting between Trump and Putin could be expected in the coming months. Clearly not sooner, because Trump himself has already indicated six months as a potential deadline for a settlement, and even that is uncertain," Dmitry Novikov, associate professor and head of the Laboratory of Political Geography and Contemporary Geopolitics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, said in a conversation with Izvestia. - Keith Kellogg talked about a horizon of three months. I don't think we should talk about any Russia-U.S. summit sooner than three months, because otherwise it will be a completely empty shot. All this needs to be properly prepared.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump during their meeting
Last June, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined Russia's conditions for launching the peace process. It implies the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of the LPR, DNR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions, and within their administrative borders, which existed at the time of their incorporation into Ukraine. In addition, Moscow is ready to start peace talks with Kiev if it officially announces its renunciation of its aspirations to join NATO.
Other peace conditions also include the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, Kiev's recognition of the new regions (including Crimea and Sevastopol) as part of Russia, and the lifting of all Western sanctions.
