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In just two days, the three U.S.-Russian countries showed their military strength in different ways, and things became complicated.
Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that the U.S. military had “precisely hit” a Venezuelan ship in the Caribbean and drowned at once.
On the same night, Russia fired 40 missiles against Ukraine and fired 580 drones. A large wave of airstrikes.
The next day, Serbia took a parade in Belgrade, directly pulling out the Chinese-made Red Flag air defense missile system.
These three things happen almost simultaneously, indicating that the current international situation is complex and there are forces that balance each other everywhere.
On September 19, local time, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an order via social media ordering U.S. troops to take action in international waters of the Caribbean Sea against a ship suspected of “transporting drugs”, which killed three people on board.
This is the third time recently that the U.S. military has launched a similar attack in the name of "anti-drug". Trump emphasized in the live video released that this move is "a necessary action to crack down on Latin American drug cartels". But the Venezuelan side subsequently raised strong protests, and its Attorney General, Tarik William Saab, directly called the U.S. military action a “crime against humanity” and called for the UN to intervene in the investigation.
At the same time as U.S. military operations in the Caribbean sparked regional tensions, air strikes in eastern Europe escalated simultaneously.On September 20-22, the Russian Aerospace Forces attacked Kharkov, Ukraine. Odessa and other military targets carried out large-scale air strikes, dispatched Su-35 fighter jets, Tu-95MS strategic bombers and other equipment, and dropped more than 80 precision-guided bombs and cruise missiles.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces disclosed in the daily war report that airstrikes mainly targeted railway hubs, arms warehouses and air defense positions, causing at least six military facilities to be destroyed, and interrupted rail transportation in some regions.
Russia has not responded directly to the scale of the airstrikes, but Defense Ministry spokesman Konashenkov said the operation “precisely destroyed established military targets” aimed at undermining the Ukrainian military’s logistical supply capabilities.
During the same period, the public appearance of Chinese weapons in Europe attracted widespread attention. On September 20th, Serbia held a military parade with the theme of "The Power of Unity" in Belgrade, the capital, to commemorate the Day of National Unity, Freedom and National Flag. The Chinese-made FK-3 surface-to-air missile weapon system (i.e. Hongqi-22 export version) and Hongqi-17 air defense missile system made their first public appearance at the military parade.
The screenshots showed 12 FK-3 launches and 4 sets of Red Flag-17 air defense systems slowly passing through the checkpoint, accompanied by warm applause from the Serbian public. The Serbian Telegraph that these Chinese equipment have completed the latest support equipment upgrade, can build a coverage and long-range multi-level air defense network, significantly enhancing the airspace defense capabilities of the Serbian army.
The U.S. has fallen into passivity under the overlap of multiple situations in the Caribbean. Its military operations encountered opposition from many countries: Venezuelan Defense Minister Lopez accused the United States of "undeclared war" and announced the launch of national conscription to form a militia organization, with 4 million people signing up to participate;
Colombian President Petro made it clear that the U.S. invasion of Venezuela would drag neighbors into conflict and firmly oppose interference in sovereignty; Brazil’s former Foreign Minister Amolin also condemned the U.S. policy of politizing the drug issue.
UN Secretary-General Guterres urged both sides to remain restrained, while China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao also expressed opposition to external forces' interference in other countries' internal affairs and demanded that the United States do more to promote regional peace.
The passivity at the European level is reflected in strategic coordination and competition for influence.The United States has been trying to push European allies to unify their positions against Russia and limit third-party weapons into the European defense system, but Serbia has highlighted China's air defense equipment, breaking the US-led defense narrative.
Earlier this year, the US journal Military Observatory commented that the deployment of the FK-3 system radically changed the situation of the backwardness of Serbia’s air defense capabilities. Serbia has demonstrated an independent diplomatic gesture through diversified military procurement, in sharp contrast to the U.S. demands for Europe’s “camping.”
More complexly, the Russian airstrikes and the U.S. operations in the Caribbean form a “two-line bond”: the U.S. currently deploys seven warships and one nuclear-powered attack submarine in the Caribbean, with 4,000 troops in standby, but European allies are calling on the U.S. to increase aid to Ukraine.
German Prime Minister Scholz said on September 22 that he hoped that the United States would increase the supply of air defense weapons to Ukraine, while the United States, due to the dispersal of troops and equipment, only promised to "accelerate the delivery of previous aid orders" and failed to provide new aid plans.
An official within NATO revealed anonymously that with the investment of two fronts, the United States has obviously lacked its military resources in Europe.
Behind the appearance of Chinese weapons in Europe is the pragmatic advancement of China-EU defense cooperation in recent years. According to the confirmation of the Serbian Ministry of National Defense in January this year, the FK-3 system has been deployed in actual combat. Its supporting phased array radar can track 60 targets at the same time, with an interception distance of 100 kilometers, and can effectively deal with various air threats such as fighter planes and cruise missiles.
According to the Ministry of General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked several Russian strategic targets in the early morning, including the Saratov refinery in Saratov state of Russia, the Neugubishevsk refinery in Samara state and the Samara line production scheduling station.
The Ukrainian military said all of these targets involve logistical security of the Russian armed forces, and the Ukrainian military is systematically implementing actions to weaken the military economic potential of Russia, focusing on undermining the logistics capabilities of the Russian oil processing industry and the armed forces' fuel supply system.
At this military parade, in addition to Chinese equipment, Serbia also displayed European equipment such as French "Rafale" fighter jets. Vucic emphasized in his speech that the Serbian army's air defense system is "at an advanced level in Europe." This diversified configuration has failed the United States' efforts to isolate specific countries.
As of September 25, the Trump administration was still coordinating the situation on two lines: on the one hand, a White House spokesman reiterated “the determination to fight drug trafficking will not shake” and on the other, promised to send two additional E-3 early warning aircraft to Europe to support surveillance of Ukraine.
But Venezuela has launched a new round of military exercises in the Caribbean, Russian air strikes continue, and the appearance of Chinese weapons in Europe has become a new focus of attention from all parties. The superposition of multiple events has put the global strategic deployment of the United States under unprecedented coordination pressure, and its balance of interests and resource allocation in different regions are being severely tested by the actual situation.
Official sources and links:
Trump orders fire and operation in the Caribbean: international online flash review U.S. military pressure Venezuela borrowing drugs "internal sickness"
Link:
https://news.cri.cn/2025-09-20/d715c56c-73cb-5651-78d3-a0ea9d75ea1d.htmlChinese weapons debut Serbian parade: Global Times “Serbian parade, China’s equipment debut”
Link:
http://m.toutiao.com/group/7552736541144023604/?upstream_biz=doubao