Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that Moscow was prepared to “respond appropriately” to Venezuela’s request for military assistance amid a US military buildup in the Caribbean, Newsweek has reported.
Zakharova also responded to reports that the US had drawn up different options for attacking Venezuela and warned against any escalation. “It’s clear that what a number of American observers, experts, and figures in various structures are saying is that this kind of direct aggression will worsen the situation rather than resolve the issues that have every potential to be resolved legally and diplomatically within the legal framework,” she said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
Alexei Zhuravlev, a senior lawmaker in Russia’s State Duma, said last week that Moscow had recently delivered air defense systems to Venezuela, including the Pantsir-S1, a system Caracas was not previously known to have. Zhuravlev said Moscow could also be open to sending Venezuela ballistic missiles.
According to a report from The Washington Post, the US believes that Venezuela has recently asked Russia for assistance in restoring Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets, overhauling engines and radar systems, and also requested 14 sets of what are believed to be Russian-made missiles.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US is looking to remove from power, said last month that his forces have 5,000 Russian-made Igla-S missiles, a portable air defense system, and that they were deployed in “key air defense positions.” The Venezuelan leader has also said that a pro-government militia that has millions of members is also ready to fight if the US attacks.
According to The New York Times, potential US plans for starting a war with Venezuela include bombing military targets, sending a special operations force to kill or capture Maduro, or sending a much larger force to seize airfields and oil infrastructure in the country. Any one of the options risks a full-blown war with Venezuela, or if the US is successful in taking out Maduro and decapitating his government, it could plunge the country into chaos.
Trump administration officials downplayed the idea of attacking Venezuela ahead of a Senate vote on a War Powers Resolution that would have blocked President Trump from launching a war with the country without congressional authorization, an effort that failed. But the US military buildup in the region continues, and the US military has continued its bombing campaign against small boats that it claims are running drugs.
