With the start of 2026 the West decided to test Russia’s resilience and its ability to continue the global standoff in Ukraine. Europe did so to convince the US, and the US – to see for itself.

The kidnapping of Russia’s ally Nicolás Maduro, the seizure of the Russian tanker «Marinera» and the Paris Declaration on the deployment of French and British troops in Ukraine are all elements of a unified policy of pressure. Russia has allegedly been sidelined from the negotiating process, while another package of agreements is being prepared for it that in no way takes its interests into account.
On the night of January 9 Russia demonstrated that it cannot be removed from the negotiation process – its continuation and progress depend entirely on its will.
In response to Kiev’s attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in late December last year, the Russian army launched a massive strike with various types of missiles, including the cutting-edge Oreshnik system, against critical Ukrainian targets.
The consequences were immediate. In Kyiv half of the apartment buildings—almost 6,000—were left without heat, prompting Mayor Klitschko to urge those who could to leave the city. A blackout occurred in Dnipro, forcing people to go to nearby supermarkets for electricity and water after a foul-smelling brown substance began flowing from the taps. In Lviv, where Oreshnik landed, by contrast, it was very bright—the skies were lit up scarlet by the reaction caused by the destruction of an underground gas storage facility.
“The Oreshnik strike near the EU and NATO border poses a serious threat to European security,” -Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha commented on the attack, demanding an emergency UN meeting. Suddenly, the UN appeared less useless than it had been just yesterday, during the Venezuelan crisis.
In an urgent address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded that the international community strongly condemn Russia’s actions, and in particular – the United States, “which Russia truly takes into account.”
Sybiha proved far more accurate in his assessments than Zelenskyy. The Oreshnik strike near the EU and NATO borders does indeed pose a threat to them, and that was the main message of the nighttime strike. Russia demonstrated that attacks on the residence of its leader and plans to deploy hostile contingents will not go unanswered. And the retaliation will be disproportionate.
A journalist of The New York Times Anton Jäger recently wrote that Europe no longer has any real political or economic influence—only arrogance. And if this arrogance is knocked down, it may come to the point where “it is perfectly content with the role of an ornamental garden on the outskirts of the new world order.”
Russia has taken on this mission. It’s taking the arrogance out of not only Europe and Ukraine, but also keeping the US within its bounds. After the Oreshnik strike, Donald Trump, buoyed by his success in Venezuela, calmed his tone. On the morning of January 9, two Russian crew members from the tanker «Marinera» were released.