Moscow Signals Possible Deployment of Hypersonic Missiles to Aid Maduro Amid U.S. Military Threat: Report

Russia is signaling it could supply Venezuela with advanced hypersonic missiles as U.S. military activity intensifies near the country, according to The Times.

The proposal, raised publicly by a senior Russian lawmaker, marks one of the strongest indications to date that Moscow may expand direct military support to President Nicolás Maduro.

Alexey Zhuravlev, deputy head of the Russian parliament's defense committee, said there were "no obstacles to supplying a friendly country with new [weapon] developments such as the Oreshnik," as quoted by The Times. The nuclear-capable Oreshnik is an intermediate-range ballistic missile reportedly capable of traveling more than 3,000 miles at hypersonic speeds.

Zhuravlev added that Russia could also supply Kalibr cruise missiles and warned that "the Americans may be in for some surprises."

The comments come as Russia has recently criticized a buildup of U.S. assets in the Caribbean. Sergey Rybakov, a deputy foreign minister, said the "unjustified build-up of American forces in the southern Caribbean is creating a situation of heightened tension, and no one but the United States itself is to blame."

The United States has deployed warships, aircraft, Marines, drones, and surveillance platforms to the region, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, expected to be within range of Venezuela soon. President Donald Trump has accused Maduro of aiding drug smuggling and has authorized lethal strikes on vessels the U.S. says are linked to narcotics trafficking, killing at least 70 people since September.

According to a recent article from The Washington Post, internal U.S. documents show Maduro asked Russia to help overhaul defensive radars, repair Sukhoi fighter jets, and supply as many as 14 missile systems. He reportedly made similar requests to China and Iran. The requests included a proposed financing plan through Russian defense conglomerate Rostec.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to TASS earlier this week that Russia remains "in contact with our friends in Venezuela" and cited unspecified "contractual obligations, adding that the Foreign Ministry said Moscow stands ready to respond "in light of existing and potential threats." A sanctioned Russian Il-76 cargo aircraft also recently landed in Caracas after routing around Western airspace; its cargo was not disclosed.

Maduro also recently claimed Venezuela has deployed 5,000 Russian-supplied Igla-S portable surface-to-air missiles across the country. However, much of Venezuela's Russian-supplied equipment is believed to be degraded; by 2018, "fewer than five Russian-built Sukhois" remained operational, one former Venezuelan official told The Post in the aforementioned report.

Despite constraints, Russia retains significant commercial interests in the Latin American nation as state-linked firms own stakes in joint ventures producing about 10–11 percent of Venezuela's crude and hold additional exploration rights.