Pentagon chief mocks Russia's air defense performance in Venezuela
Photo: Pete Hegseth (Getty Images)
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth questioned the effectiveness of Russian air defense systems, which failed to work during a US special operation in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
“Seems that those Russian air defenses didn't quite work so well, did they? Downtown Caracas and grabbed an indicted individual wanted by American justice in support of law enforcement,” Hegseth said.
The Pentagon chief also added that three nights ago, everyone saw how nearly 200 of our best Americans went to the center of Caracas in Venezuela. And, according to him, not a single American was killed.
What the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry says
Responding to Hegseth's remarks, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya emphasized that Venezuela had S-300VM air defense systems, two battalion sets of which were supplied to Venezuela by Russia in 2013.
In October 2025, Russia transferred an undisclosed number of Pantsir air defense missile and gun systems, as well as Buk-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems, to the country.
US special operation in Venezuela
On January 3, Washington conducted an operation in Caracas to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was arrested with his wife Cilia Flores and sent to the United States, where the first court hearing in their case has already taken place. They are accused of drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons.
Long before the operation, Trump demanded that Maduro return “stolen assets, land, and oil” to America, but the Venezuelan dictator ignored the calls and threats of the current American leader.
Trump's accusation of stolen US assets refers to Venezuela's nationalization of oil fields that belonged to American companies. This happened under Maduro's predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
