China Has Begun To Doubt Russia

• 18.01.2026, 22:44

Beijing suspects the Kremlin knew about the US operation in Venezuela.

Russia has not informed China about its assessment of the situation in Venezuela, which has caused bewilderment in Beijing and called into question the nature of relations between the two countries. This was reported by The Times with reference to knowledgeable sources in China.

They say Moscow knew about the US preparations for an operation in Venezuela. Moreover, in late December, Russia began pulling diplomats and their families out of Caracas.

The Times's sources note that the Russian S-300 and Buk-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems deployed in Venezuela were not connected to radar networks. In fact, this rendered them inoperable during the U.S. operation.

The Times emphasizes that because of U.S. actions, China risks losing billions of dollars in oil loans to Venezuela. As a result, Beijing has found itself in an extremely disadvantageous position, yielding to Washington.

The Times reports that China is discussing the version that the failure of Russian air defense systems could not be an accident, but a sign of a high level of cooperation between Moscow and Washington. In this connection, Beijing is increasingly asking whether Russia can be considered a reliable ally.