The portal referred to the latest satellite photos, which prove the deployment of the Buk-M2E system near Caracas, and to the statement of Alexei Zhuravlov, first vice-chairman of the defense committee of the Russian parliament. The latter announced on Tuesday that The Kremlin has sent advanced weapons to the Caribbean and that it also sees no obstacles in providing Venezuela with new solutions, such as hypersonic Oreshnik missiles or Kalibr missiles, which – according to the Kremlin's assurances – are impossible to intercept.
Moscow was also supposed to equip the Venezuelan armed forces with Pantsir-S1 self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery systems.
However, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) doubts that Russia will be able to send such advanced weapons to the Caribbean. Last week, the head of this service, Vasyl Maluk, said that almost half of the Russian Pantsyr systems that are allegedly already located in Venezuela have been destroyed since the beginning of 2025.
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And considering that Russia would have to use the heavy An-124 Ruslan military aircraft to transport systems such as Oreshnik or Kalibr across the Atlantic, it would be easy to detect and, therefore, an equally easy target for American missiles.
The leader of Venezuela asks Russia for military assistance
Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro asked Russia for military assistance. He has just asked for air defense systems and at least 14 missile systems, the Washington Post reported last week. According to this newspaper, Maduro also asked China and Iran for similar help.
On Wednesday, the Defense Express website specializing in military affairs compared the current situation to the Soviet Union's operation codenamed Anadyr in 1962. At that time, Moscow secretly deployed over 40 ballistic missile launchers and 40,000 soldiers in Cuba. The United States responded by blockading the island and forcing 85 Soviet ships heading towards it to retreat.
The US is strengthening its presence in the Caribbean
Also now, undeterred by Russia's threats, the United States is strengthening its military presence in the Caribbean, where the world's largest ship, the American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, is sailing – wrote Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell in a post on the X platform. After leaving the Mediterranean Sea, the aircraft carrier is now crossing the Atlantic.
On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by Reuters as saying that this American military expansion in the Caribbean is unjustified and is causing tensions in the region. The Russian official made no mention of shipments of Russian military equipment supplied to the Maduro regime.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday in an interview with CBS that Venezuelan leader Maduro's days are numbered. When asked whether the United States would go to war with this country, he replied that he “doubts” and “doesn't think so.” He also added that Venezuela “treats the US very badly, not only in terms of drug smuggling, but also in sending illegal immigrants.” When the interviewer asked why the largest American aircraft carrier and a strike group were sent to the Caribbean region, Trump replied that “it has to be somewhere.” He responded in a similarly ambiguous manner to the suggestion that sending an aircraft carrier and gathering forces around Venezuela suggested a plan to conduct a broader military operation.
