Moscow is maintaining a military footprint in Latin America and expanding cooperation with Nicolás Maduro’s regime, according to Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence. He made the comments to The War Zone, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said on its Facebook page.
Bodanov said more than 120 Russian service members are currently in Venezuela, led by Col. Gen. Oleg Makarevich, commander of the Russian Defense Ministry’s so‑called “Equator” operational group. He oversees the training of Venezuelan security forces. Budanov alleged Makarevich organized the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, which became the largest environmental catastrophe in recent decades and led to significant loss of life, harm to animals and the destruction of settlements.
“They serve as military advisers and instructors. This includes training infantry, special units, drone operators, as well as work with intelligence and communications,” Budanov said.
Rotations of Russian forces in Venezuela have been ongoing for many years and are not a response to increased US military presence in the region, he said, but they are sufficient to maintain influence in the country. Group commander Makarevich and about 90 Russians are based in Caracas, with others at facilities in Maracaibo, La Guaira and on Aves Island.
“Russian units will likely remain in Venezuela even if the United States opts for a force-based scenario. Russia will try to speak to Washington directly, using the presence of its troops in the country as cover,” Budanov added.
Ukraine has said the 2023 Kakhovka dam blast was a crime that caused major humanitarian, environmental and economic damage.
The dam’s destruction triggered a large-scale disaster: 35 people were killed and 24 remain missing. The death toll may be significantly higher, as it is unknown how many people died in occupied territory. Floodwaters inundated 46 settlements, more than 1,300 hectares of farmland and 55,000 hectares of forest. At least 81,000 hectares of protected areas and industrial sites in southern Ukraine were also flooded.
In addition, communities in the Kherson, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as Russian-occupied Crimea, were left without water supplies. The blast also created risks for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant by disrupting the station’s cooling system.
