Russia Reiterates Support for Venezuela, Maduro Gov’t Requests Military Assistance

Caracas, November 3, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Russian government reaffirmed its support for the Nicolás Maduro administration as Venezuela faces a growing US military threat.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency Tass Sunday that Moscow remains in close contact with Caracas and wishes for peace to prevail in Latin America.

“We want everything to remain peaceful, and we don’t want any new conflicts to arise in the region. The world is already full of conflicts,” he said Sunday.

Peskov’s comments followed similar ones from Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who reiterated calls for Latin America and the Caribbean to remain a “zone of peace” as well as her government’s “firm support for the Venezuelan government in defending its national sovereignty.”

Zakharova added that the Vladimir Putin administration remained in close contact with its partners to assist them against “existing and potential threats.”

Since August, the US has deployed warships, a submarine and thousands of troops in the Southern Caribbean Sea, while USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is also headed to the region with its strike group. US military aircraft have likewise entered Venezuela’s flight information region repeatedly in recent weeks.

Washington has justified the military buildup as a purported crackdown on drug trafficking. US forces have launched strikes against at least 16 boats allegedly carrying US-bound narcotics, killing more than 60 civilians in the process, which United Nations (UN) experts have labeled extrajudicial executions. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk also condemned the US military actions, labeling them as “unacceptable” and calling for the US to cease its campaign.

Foreign policy analysts have contended that the White House’s ultimate goal is to produce regime change in Venezuela via military pressure or a direct attack. Trump administration officials have repeatedly stated that US forces will soon bomb alleged drug targets inside Venezuelan territory, though the US president recently stated that he could not confirm the alleged plans to reporters. The US president previously authorized the CIA to conduct lethal operations inside the South American country.

The Trump administration has accused Maduro and other high-ranking officials of “flooding” the US with narcotics. However, Washington has not presented court-tested evidence to sustain its claims. Reports from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have identified Venezuela as a marginal country in global drug trafficking. 

In a recent interview with 60 Minutes, Trump changed his rationale for the military buildup on Venezuela’s shores, alleging that the country had emptied its prisons and asylums into the US. The Trump administration has provided no evidence to back up any of its assertions. 

The Maduro government has responded to the US military escalation with large-scale defensive exercises and international denunciations, including at the United Nations Security Council. Caracas has likewise vowed not to fall for US provocations and condemned alleged false flag plots.

The recent Kremlin statements of support followed a Washington Post report that Caracas had reached out to Russia, as well as China and Iran, for military assistance. According to US government documents seen by the Washington Post, Maduro requested “defensive radars, aircraft repairs and potentially missiles” in letters sent to the allied nations’ leaders.

The report added that Caracas also requested GPS scramblers and drones from Iran. Concerning Russia, Venezuela allegedly proposed a three-year financing plan to cover purchases from Russia’s state-owned defense corporation Rostec. Venezuelan, Russian, Chinese and Iranian officials have not commented on the report.

Moscow has been the Caribbean nation’s most important military ally in the past quarter century as the Hugo Chávez and Maduro governments sought to overcome the prior dependence of the country’s armed forces on US equipment. 

Last week, two Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft landed in Caracas. Their cargoes were not publicly disclosed. The flights, operated by Zicotrans, can transport loads up to 50 tons. Nevertheless, Russia’s military industry remains heavily weighed down by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which could limit its ability to assist allies such as Venezuela.

Military analysts point to Venezuela’s Russian-supplied Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 fighter jets, equipped with supersonic Kh-31A anti-ship missiles, as one of the country’s most important deterrents. Venezuela received 24 Su-30 airplanes between 2006 and 2008, though it is not known if all remain operational.

Venezuela’s air defenses additionally include Russian-supplied equipment, including the long-range S-300VM and the medium-range Buk-M2 surface-to-air missile systems, as well as portable Igla-S launchers.

The Maduro and Putin governments have significantly expanded cooperation in recent years as both countries face wide-reaching Western economic sanctions. The two countries’ legislatures recently ratified a strategic cooperation treaty establishing a joint commitment to collaborate in areas including defense, energy, finance and diplomacy.

On Friday, Venezuelan state airline Conviasa held the inaugural flight of a new weekly route connecting Caracas and Saint Petersburg.

Edited by José Luis Granados Ceja in Mexico City, Mexico.