By PingTV News Desk January 4, 2026
CARACAS/KYIV – As the dust settles in Caracas following the dramatic U.S. extraction of Nicolás Maduro, geopolitical analysts are shifting their gaze 6,000 miles east to Ukraine. Experts warn that the U.S. operation, dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve,” may have inadvertently handed Vladimir Putin the “regional sphere of influence” precedent he has sought for years, placing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a precarious position.
Zelenskyy’s Bold Response
Hours after Maduro was confirmed to be in U.S. custody in New York, President Zelenskyy issued a pointed, if oblique, statement. Speaking from Kyiv, Zelenskyy suggested that the U.S. now “knows what they should do next,” a comment widely interpreted as a call for similar decisive action against Putin
The “Regional Sphere” Trade-Off
Geopolitical analysts from organizations like Chatham House and the European Policy Centre suggest that Russia may use the Venezuela attack to justify its own “special operations” in its “backyard.”
“The message from Washington is that they will enforce primacy close to home,” says Chris Kremidas-Courtney, a Senior Fellow at the EPC. “For Ukraine, this distinction could be fatal. If the U.S. signals it is focusing on its own hemisphere, Putin may feel he has a green light to finish what he started in Ukraine without fear of further U.S. escalation.”
Russian Military Moves: What to Expect
Military experts outline three likely moves from the Kremlin in the coming days:
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Justification of Annexation: The Russian Foreign Ministry has already labeled the U.S. action an “act of aggression.” Experts believe Moscow will now use this “precedent” to justify a final push to annex the remaining territories in the Donbas and Zaporizhzhia, framing it as “stabilizing their neighborhood” just as the U.S. claimed to be “stabilizing” Venezuela.
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Targeting Zelenskyy’s Inner Circle: With the U.S. having successfully “decapitated” the Venezuelan leadership, security experts in Kyiv fear Russia may attempt similar surgical strikes or “arrest missions” against high-ranking Ukrainian officials, arguing that if the U.S. can arrest a head of state for “criminality,” Russia can do the same under its own legal justifications.
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Pressure on Peace Talks: Russia currently holds its largest amount of Ukrainian territory since 2022. Analysts believe Putin will use the U.S. distraction in Latin America to harden his stance in ongoing peace negotiations, demanding total capitulation from Kyiv while the U.S. is preoccupied with “running” Venezuela.
The “Red Line” Shift
While the U.S. naval blockade remains in the Caribbean, the Russian Navy has maintained its presence in the Black Sea. Foreign policy expert Fiona Hill previously noted that Russia once offered to trade its support for Venezuela in exchange for U.S. acquiescence on Ukraine. That “trade” may now be happening by default.
“Venezuela is Russia’s closest partner in South America,” notes an analyst for The Guardian. “By removing Maduro, the U.S. has effectively cleared the board in its own yard. The question now is: what has been cleared for Putin in return?”
PingTV Quick Take: The capture of Maduro is a tactical win for the U.S. but a strategic nightmare for Ukraine. If the world returns to a “spheres of influence” model, Zelenskyy may find himself increasingly isolated as Washington focuses on rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry.
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