Russian officials suggested in 2019 that the Kremlin might reduce support for Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela in exchange for a free hand in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump shows he is "increasingly comfortable with the use of force" on the global stage and could turn up the heat on Moscow over Ukraine, U.S. diplomat Kurt Volker said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent on Jan.

Despite a close relationship with Caracas stretching back for decades, Russia has been reserved in its response to the U.S. attack on Venezuela.

The U.S. military operation in Venezuela can be seen as both a benefit and a burden for Russian President Vladimir Putin

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's capture by the United States has deprived Vladimir Putin of an ally and could increase U.S. "oil clout", but Moscow is eying potential gains from President Donald Trump's division of the world into spheres of influence.

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel prize winner had been sidelined by White House after US seized Maduro

Several lawmakers who initially supported the measure – a rebuke of Trump's incursion into the Latin American country without congressional approval – switched their votes, following intense pressure from the highest levels of the federal government,

Russia’s Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev and a senior lawmaker said over the weekend that U.S.