Vladimir Putin greets Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin, January 22, 2026
Wednesday’s Coverage: How Russia Helped Iran Target US Forces
UPDATE 0938 GMT:
Reeling from Ukrainian attacks which have halted much of its oil exports, Russia is threatening the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday, “If third countries have provided or are providing their territory for enemy drones to fly over, they must fully understand – and we are confident they do, because it has been explained to them – the risks they are exposing themselves to.”
Since late March, Russia’s Baltic Sea ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga have suspended operations because of Ukraine’s strikes. The two ports handle 40% of Russian maritime oil exports.
On Tuesday, Ukraine struck Ust-Luga for the fifth time within two weeks. It also damaged loading facilities at an oil terminal in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, responsible for 35% of maritime oil exports.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized that the Trump camp is helping Russia, ignoring Moscow’s assistance for Iran’s targeting of US troops.
Zelensky told the Rest is Politics podcast that the Trumpists are dismissing the evidence, even when he tried to draw the White House’s attention to it.
He noted that, during the US-Israel War on Iran, Russian military satellites had photographed critical energy infrastructure in the Gulf states and in Israel, as well as US warplanes, warships, and troop positions across the region.
I said this publicly. Did we hear a reaction from the US to Russia that they have to stop it? The problem is they trust Putin. And it’s a pity.
Russia conducted at least 24 surveys of areas in 11 Middle Eastern countries from March 21 to 31. They surveilled 46 objects including the military bases of the US and its allies, airports, and oilfields. Within days of the surveys, military bases and headquarters were targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.
Russian satellites are also surveying the Strait of Hormuz, say Ukrainian intelligence services, a “western military source”, and a “regional security official”.
The President said Donald Trump’s envoys, real estate developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, failed to “really understand the details of what Russia wants” as they “spent too much time” with Vladimir Putin and his senior officials.The duo travelled to Moscow five times last year, but have yet to visit Kyiv.
Zelensky noted the Trumpist pressure for Ukraine to give up all of the strategic Donetsk region, in the east of the country, to Russia.
We have to recognize that partially Americans are feeling that [the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are] nothing for us.
They don’t want to recognise that Putin will lie to them and that he can continue the occupation even after such steps. The Americans are sure that they can trust Putin.
