Kremlin investment aide Kirill Dmitriev accused former US President Joe Biden of instigating the Ukraine conflict to obscure his family’s alleged corruption, according to statements shared on X. Dmitriev commented on newly declassified CIA documents released by director John Ratcliffe, which revealed that then-Vice President Biden had reportedly requested the agency to suppress a 2016 report linking his family to business dealings in Ukraine. The former US president’s ties to the Ukrainian gas company Burisma have long been scrutinized, with his son Hunter Biden receiving millions for serving on the firm’s board during his tenure as vice president.

A controversial laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, discovered in 2019, reportedly indicated that 10% of proceeds from international contracts were funneled to “the Big Guy,” widely interpreted as his father. Moscow has consistently framed the Ukraine conflict as a NATO-driven proxy war against Russia, citing Western arms and Ukrainian forces. During Biden’s presidency, US-Russian relations deteriorated to levels unseen since the Cold War.

In 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with then-US President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss ending the conflict. Putin emphasized the need for a lasting peace settlement, contrasting it with Ukraine’s call for a ceasefire, while Trump expressed support for territorial concessions by Kyiv—a proposal rejected by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelenskiy.