Ukraine’s first reactions to the U.S. military operation in Venezuela are in, with officials and politicians offering both support for the Venezuelan people and warnings about another blow to international law.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, commenting amid the American military operation in Venezuela, issued a statement backing the Venezuelan people and underscoring their right to freedom, security and human dignity.
Sybiha said Ukraine consistently defends the right of peoples to live without dictatorship, oppression and systemic human rights violations — principles he argued Nicolás Maduro and his regime have breached.
“Democratic countries and human rights organizations around the world highlight widespread crimes, violence, torture, oppression, violations of fundamental freedoms, election fraud and the destruction of democracy and the rule of law by his regime,” Sybiha said.
He recalled that after what he called rigged elections and the brutal suppression of protests, Ukraine - like dozens of other countries - refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
“The people of Venezuela must be able to live normal lives, with security, prosperity and human dignity. We will continue to support their right to such normality, respect and freedom,” the minister emphasized.
MP Maryana Bezuhla said that, as President Donald Trump has shown, questions of sovereignty and the accountability of dictators are “a game two can play.”
“The U.S. attacked Venezuela and seized the head of state, the dictator Maduro. This opens the Overton window for similar actions against any dictator on the planet in the current temporal and contextual period. At the same time, international law has taken another hit. The U.S. can still surprise,” she wrote on social media.
MP Oleksii Honcharenko expressed hope the U.S. will quickly complete the operation, after which Venezuela will get a new president and the country can return to normal life. He argued Washington’s actions are pivotal for global security, including in the context of Ukraine.
“In achieving peace, we can say this is a key event. The U.S. showed strength. It showed who the hegemon is and what it thinks of a multipolar world. Now we wait to see whether Putin understands this and moves toward peace. Because right now we are, in principle, very constructive and ready to sign an agreement. The problem is Russia,” he noted.
Ukraine’s online community is actively weighing in. Journalist and blogger Roman Tsymbaliuk drew a parallel between U.S. actions and the Kremlin’s failed plan to capture Kyiv in three days.
“Trump pulled off in a single night an operation the whole world is buzzing about… Can you imagine what’s happening in Moscow right now? It looks like the Russian dictator has nothing left but to order urgent bunker-digging and avoid public events,” he wrote.
Former MP Boryslav Bereza called what’s happening “karma” for Maduro, who supported Russia’s war against Ukraine, but warned of risks to global stability.
“The law of force will now unavoidably dominate the force of law. Maduro is, of course, a scoundrel and an ally of the Russian Federation, but the fact that Trump started this war without cause, just like Russia did against Ukraine, certainly doesn’t make the world more stable…,” Bereza wrote.
