On January 30, Mr. Kirill Dmitriev - Special Representative of the Russian President for Economic Cooperation - commented on the recent diplomatic rifts between Kiev and Western allies. This statement directly targeted the financial disputes arising within the pro-Ukrainian bloc.
Tensions originated from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly complaining about the country's army missing a batch of anti-aircraft missiles. The reason given was that European partners had not paid for this order as planned.
The incident exposed the lingering disagreements in the aid mechanism. While Ukraine is thirsty for weapons to deal with airstrikes, Europe seems to be facing problems with budget and disbursement procedures. The "ball of responsibility" being kicked back and forth between the parties has created a gap in Kiev's defense system.
Faced with this situation, Mr. Kirill Dmitriev - who is also holding the position of CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) - expressed his opinion on social network X. He said that blaming each other at this time is useless.
Ukraine and Europe should fully support President Trump's peace plan instead of blaming each other," Mr. Dmitriev wrote.
The advice clearly implies: Instead of struggling with military aid packages that are facing financial difficulties, the parties should shift to the political solution that the US administration is promoting.
Observers believe that Mr. Dmitriev's statement is a skillful diplomatic signal. By calling for support for Mr. Trump, Moscow both deepened the financial conflict of the opponent and showed goodwill to participate in the negotiation process initiated by Washington.
In the context that President Trump is campaigning for temporary ceasefires, the voice from a senior Russian official shows that the Kremlin is appreciating the mediating role of the US more than the disjointed military efforts from Europe. This is also consistent with the orientation to seek a peaceful and stable solution that Moscow has mentioned.
