Amid a US military buildup in the Caribbean, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has requested military assistance from Russia, China, and Iran, according to internal US government documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The requests to Moscow were made in a letter intended for Russian President Vladimir Putin, to be delivered by a senior aide during a visit to the Russian capital this month, the documents show.

Maduro asked Russia to help restore several Russian Sukhoi Su-30MK2 aircraft previously purchased by Venezuela, overhaul eight engines and five radars, and acquire 14 sets of what were believed to be Russian missiles. He also requested unspecified "logistical support" and a "medium-term financing plan of three years" through Rostec, the Russian state-owned defense conglomerate, though no specific amount was mentioned.

In the letter, Maduro emphasized that Russian-made Sukhoi fighters "represented the most important deterrent the Venezuelan National Government had when facing the threat of war," according to the US records.

The Venezuelan president also composed a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping seeking "expanded military cooperation" between their two countries to counter "the escalation between the US and Venezuela." In that missive, he asked the Chinese government to expedite Chinese companies' production of radar detection systems.

"In the missive, Maduro emphasized the seriousness of perceived US aggression in the Caribbean, framing US military action against Venezuela as action against China due to their shared ideology," the US documents state.

Transport Minister Ramón Celestino Velásquez recently coordinated a shipment of military equipment and drones from Iran while planning a visit to that country, the documents say. He told an Iranian official that Venezuela was in need of "passive detection equipment," "GPS scramblers" and "almost certainly drones with 1,000 km [600 mile] range," the documents state.

It remains unclear from the documents how Russia, China and Iran responded to these requests.

Russia's restrained response

On 26 October, an Ilyushin Il-76—one of the Russian aircraft sanctioned in 2023 by the United States for participating in the arms trade and transporting mercenaries—arrived in Caracas after a circuitous route over Africa to avoid Western airspace, according to Flightradar24.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the letter, but on the evening of 31 October, the Foreign Ministry said Moscow supports Venezuela "in defending its national sovereignty" and stands "ready to respond appropriately to the requests of our partners in light of emerging threats."

Moscow also recently ratified a new strategic treaty with Caracas.

However, the official messaging from Moscow on the Trump administration's actions against Venezuela has been relatively restrained. In early October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "expressed serious concern over the increasing escalation of Washington's activities in the Caribbean Sea" in a call with his Venezuelan counterpart.

On 29 October, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow "respects Venezuela's sovereignty" and believes the issue should be resolved in accordance with "international law"—a common talking point the Kremlin often employs to sidestep sensitive geopolitical questions.

US military pressure

The US military buildup in the Caribbean is presenting perhaps the greatest challenge to Maduro since he took over the country's leadership in 2013.

More than a dozen US strikes on alleged drug traffickers, largely departing from Venezuelan shores, have killed at least 61 people since September. The administration has not presented proof that the ships were involved in drug trafficking, and Maduro has denied they were.

The USS Gerald Ford, the Navy's heaviest and most modern aircraft carrier, has been dispatched to the region.

"The fact that we've moved over 10 percent of our naval assets to the Caribbean is already a win, in some regards, for Putin," said James Story, a former US ambassador to Venezuela and founding partner of Global Frontier Advisors. "Our renewed interest in all things Western Hemisphere divides our attention on Ukraine. And that's a good thing for Putin."

Russia's shifting priorities

Defense analysts say Moscow has shifted some of its key Latin American listening posts from Venezuela to Nicaragua, where pro-Russian authoritarian President Daniel Ortega has solidified his grip on power.

"The reality is that Russia has been relatively quiet on Venezuela," said Douglas Farah, president of the national security consulting firm IBI Consultants. "And they've spent very little political capital defending Maduro."

Mired in a war in Ukraine and eyeing closer cooperation with other Latin American partners, Moscow has gradually curtailed its interest in Venezuela in recent years with little sign of a surge in support because of the current crisis.

With its forces tied up in Ukraine, Russia is also less capable of assisting a friendly leader across the Atlantic, even if it wanted to.

"Would Russia do anything [in case of a US operation]? I think it is not in the immediate plans of the Russian authorities," said Victor Jeifets, editor in chief of Russian scientific journal "Latin America."

The cooperation treaty with Venezuela stops short of a real military pledge. Jeifets said the treaty, which covers topics including money laundering and nuclear proliferation, is vague on military cooperation, simply suggesting that the two parties "improve ties in the field of defense."

Questionable military capabilities

Analysts and officials familiar with the Venezuelan military say much of what was purchased from Russia is nonoperational or outdated. One former Venezuelan military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals, said that by 2018, Venezuela had fewer than five Russian-built Sukhois operating.

"Chávez bought, or Russia sold Venezuela, pure junk," he said.

Maduro this month, however, claimed Venezuela had deployed 5,000 Russian-made Igla-S portable surface-to-air missiles nationwide.

What Russia stands to lose

The political and economic ties between Russia and Venezuela date to Hugo Chavez following his rise to power in 1999. High-profile projects between the two countries continue to roll out, including a Kalashnikov munitions factory that opened in July in the Venezuelan state of Aragua, about 20 years after it was pledged. Moscow also has exploration rights for potentially billions of dollars in untapped natural gas and oil reserves.

Russian state companies have direct investments in three Venezuelan joint ventures that produce 107,000 barrels of crude per day, or about 11 percent of Venezuela's total current production and generate approximately $67 million a month, said Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at Rice University.

Russia is still a major player in Venezuelan oil, a thick sludgy crude product requiring substantial processing. The Russians provide essential inputs for processing that crude as well as supplies of gasoline to keep the industry running.

A regime change in Venezuela would be a major blow to Moscow, potentially representing the loss of a major ally while significantly weakening another, Cuba—an even longer-standing ally of Moscow's whose intelligence community is closely intertwined with Maduro's Venezuela.

Russia’s growing ability to sustain weapons production despite Western sanctions is being driven by a flow of Chinese components and materials, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president’s commissioner for sanctions, told journalists on July 7.

Vlasiuk’s statement comes as Russia escalates its drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, while the U.S. continues to hold back on imposing tougher sanctions against Moscow and foreign-made components are still being found in Russian weapons used in the attacks.

Ukraine has previously documented that Chinese companies have contributed electronics and materials used in the production of these drones.

Just days earlier, after a large-scale Russian attack on July 4, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha shared on social media a photo of a component from a Shahed-136/Geran-2 combat drone discovered in Kyiv. According to Sybiha, the part was manufactured in China and delivered recently.

"The trend of China’s (role) is increasing," Vlasiuk told journalists.

He said that the presence of Chinese-made components and materials in Russian weapons is on the rise, adding that Beijing is expanding its technological capabilities and can now replicate some American technologies.

When asked by Kyiv about the Chinese parts found in Russian weapons, Beijing responded by claiming that such support is "non-lethal," the president's commissioner for sanctions said.

Beijing remains one of Russia's key wartime partners, helping Moscow evade Western sanctions and emerging as the leading supplier of dual-use goods used by the Russian defense industry.

In April, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that China, alongside Iran and North Korea, is supplying weapons to Russia.

His remarks followed reports that Ukrainian soldiers had captured Chinese nationals fighting together with Russia's army in Donetsk Oblast. Later, Zelensky revealed that at least "several hundred" Chinese nationals are fighting on Russia's side in Ukraine.

Ukraine has already sanctioned several Chinese companies tied to Russia’s war effort.

The South China Morning Post reported that China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas on July 3 that the country cannot afford for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine amid fears Washington would shift focus towards Beijing.

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If Beijing moves against Taiwan, NATO might soon find itself in a two-front war with China and Russia — or so the alliance’s secretary general believes. “If Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan, he would first make sure that he makes a call to his very junior partner in all of this, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin… and telling him, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this, and I need you to to keep them busy in Europe by attacking NATO territory,’” Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a July 5 interview with the New

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

North Korea is already using Russia Pantsir S-1 air defense systems in Pyongyang, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR), said in an interview with Hromadske Radio on July 1.

The arrival of Pantsir missiles is another sign that North Korea is improving its weapons technology and military might through cooperation with Russia. The two nations signed a defense treaty in June 2024, and North Korea has supplied arms and troops to Moscow in exchange for training and advanced military technology.

"I can tell you that, for example, the first Pantsir S-1 installations have already appeared in Pyongyang," Budanov told Hromadske Radio.

"They are already on combat duty there, guarding their capital. And the Russians are retraining Korean personnel, and soon the Koreans will be working autonomously on this technology."

The Pansir S-1 is the same air defense system Russia uses to guard its military-industrial facilities. It carries an estimated price tag of around $15 million.

North Korea is "currently significantly increasing its military power" through direct cooperation with Russia, Budanov said. It benefits from Russia's ongoing technology transfers and the "real combat experience" personnel gained by fighting alongside Russian troops against Ukraine.  

Budanov also said Ukraine expects "a significant increase" in the number of North Korean citizens in Russia. Some of these citizens will sign up for the Russian military, making it seem less like an official transfer of North Korean personnel and more like voluntary registration from invidivual citizens.

The day before Budanov's comments, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un publicly honored his country's soldiers who were killed fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine. The ceremony coincided with a visit by Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova, illustrating the deepening military alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang continues.

Russia has also reportedly provided North Korea with advanced electronic warfare systems, helped the country build modern warships, and improved its KN-23 ballistic missiles.

In June, Budanov said that Moscow has agreed to assist Pyongyang in mass-producing Shahed-type attack drones.

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The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

European firms continue to ship critical weapons components to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the European Council on June 26 in a plea for tougher EU sanctions against Moscow.

"Some European companies are still sending critical components to Russia. These end up in missiles and other weapons used to kill us, kill Ukrainians," Zelensky said in a video address to the European Council summit in Brussels.

Ukraine is in the process of identifying these materials and will pass along evidence to EU officials, he said.

Zelensky's remarks were part of a broader appeal for the EU to expand and strengthen economic penalties on Russia. While the bloc reached an agreement in Brussels to extend current sectoral sanctions for another six months, it is still debating its proposed 18th package of sanctions against Russia.

Zelensky urged the EU to pass "a truly strong" 18th package, targeting "Russia's oil trade, its shadow tanker fleet, Russian banks and other financial instruments, and the supply chains that bring equipment or parts for making weapons."

The sanctions should not only penalize Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" vessels, but also the tankers' captains and the ports Russia uses to export oil, Zelensky said.

The president also reiterated his call to drop the current oil price cap to $30 per barrel.

"Russia's military ambitions grow when its oil revenues are high," he said.

Several European countries still rely heavily on Russian oil and gas, Zelensky pointed out. Ukraine understands the complexities of this situation and treads carefully in order to respect its partnership with the EU.

"Yet, sadly, we don't always feel this same understanding in return when it comes to Ukraine's needs," Zelensky said.

"It feels especially strange to hear such strong criticism — even political pressure from some  leaders — while our respect for EU rules allows oil to keep flowing."

While Zelensky did not specify any particular EU leaders, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in June threatened to veto the 18th sanctions package, citing concerns over Slovakia's reliance on Russia's energy imports. Fico has emerged as one of the EU's strongest supporters of Russia, alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Orban took aim against Kyiv at the Brussels summit by blocking a unanimous statement of support for Ukraine's accession to the EU. All 26 other member states supported the statement, while Hungary was the sole opponent.

In his address to the Council, Zelensky urged the EU to send a clear signal of support for Ukraine's European path. Ukraine has fulfilled its obligations in the accession process, the president argued, and deserves recognition of its progress.

"Any delay by Europe at this point could create a global precedent and a reason to doubt Europe's words and commitments," he said.

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The Kyiv IndependentChris York

A key military-industrial site in the Russian city of Taganrog linked to Moscow's production of combat drones and electronic warfare systems was damaged overnight, a Ukrainian official said on June 25, amid Russian reports of Ukrainian drones targeting the area.

"Something unknown flew into the Atlant-Aero plant in Taganrog," Andrii Kovalenko, head of the counter-disinformation center at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council  said.

"This is an important node in the Russian military-industrial complex, specializing in components for combat drones and control systems."

Kovalenko said the plant is involved in the production of "Orion" drones, electronic warfare complexes, and digital integration systems for strike FPV (first person view) drones and loitering munitions.

Russian authorities reported a wave of overnight Ukrainian drone attacks across multiple regions, including Rostov, which borders eastern Ukraine. Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 40 Ukrainian drones over several areas, including the Crimean Peninsula and seven over the Rostov region.

Rostov Governor Yuri Slyusar said on Telegram that while there were no casualties, the strikes allegedly caused a fire at a sports complex and damaged a high school and two residential buildings in Taganrog. In nearby Azov, a grain warehouse and industrial facility were hit, he added, without providing further detail.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

Throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia have extensively invested in drone technology, revolutionizing the way wars are fought.

Ukraine has ramped up its domestic drone production and long-range strike capabilities as it seeks to weaken Russian military infrastructure deep behind enemy lines. Earlier in June, Ukrainian drones targeted long-range Russian bombers in an operation dubbed "Spiderweb."

Russia has escalated its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, launching hundreds of drones during overnight assaults. Since February 2022, Moscow has launched 28,743 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine

Speaking at the NATO Defense Industry Forum in The Hague on June 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine can produce over 8 million drones of various types each year. He called for an increased investment from the allies to reach that potential.

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The Kyiv IndependentAndrew Chakhoyan

Russia's weapons arsenal includes over 1,950 strategic missiles and thousands of drones, the news outlet RBC-Ukraine reported on June 21, citing a statement from Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).

According to HUR, the figures reflect Russia's stockpiles as of June 15.

Throughout May and June, Russia has launched a series of mass missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities — including a large-scale strike against Kyiv on June 17 that left 30 dead and over 170 injured. Russia has repeatedly shattered its own drone record in attacks on Ukraine in the past month.

Russia's missile stocks include up to 500 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, HUR told RBC-Ukraine, as well as up to 150 hypersonic Kinzhal missiles. Moscow also has up to 60 North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missiles.

In addition to ballistics, Russia possesses up to 300 Iskander-K cruise missiles, up to 260 Kh-101 cruise missiles, up to 280 Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles, and over 400 Kalibr cruise missiles.

Russia produces up to 195 missiles per month, HUR said.

Moscow also aims to ramp up drone production from 170 to 190 units per day, according to HUR. As of June 15, Russia had over 6,000 Shahed-type attack drones and over 6,000 Gerberas, a cheap decoy version that imitates the Shahed.

Russia's arsenal highlights Ukraine's urgent need for additional air defense systems, something President Volodymyr Zelensky has been continuously lobbying Western partners to provide.

Zelensky announced on June 20 that Ukraine is boosting production of interceptor drones to combat the growing numbers of Shahed UAVs launched by Russia each night. Ukraine is also producing its own missiles and recently announced that its domestically produced Sapsan ballistic missile had entered serial production.

The president hopes to secure additional funding for defense production from allies at the upcoming NATO summit.

Russia has paired its intensifying nightly attacks with escalated rhetoric about its territorial ambitions in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 20 declared that "all of Ukraine" belongs to Russia, suggesting the Kremlin is looking to expand its illegal occupation .

Russian forces currently occupy five Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

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The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan

The Nevinnomyssk Azot chemical plant — one of Russia’s largest producers of nitrogen fertilizer and ammonia and a key supplier to the Kremlin's military-industrial complex — has suspended production, Russian independent media outlet Astra reported on June 16.

According to Astra, the chemical plant suspended production as a direct result of Ukrainian drone strikes. The strike — which was confirmed by Ukraine’s General Staff on June 14 — targeted two major military-industrial facilities in Russia, including the Nevinnomyssk Azot plant in Stavropol Krai. The facility reportedly supplied raw materials and components for Russia’s weapons and fuel production.

Nevinnomyssk Azot is among Russia's top producers of ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers and hosts the country’s only production lines for methyl acetate and high-purity acetic acid. It also operates Russia’s first melamine production facility, according to open-source data.

According to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, the plant produces up to one million tons of ammonia and over one million tons of ammonium nitrate annually, is "a critical element of Russia's military-industrial complex."

Kovalenko noted that ammonium nitrate is a key component for explosives and artillery shells. He added that the plant also synthesizes dual-use chemicals such as melamine, acetic acid, methanol, and potassium nitrate — all frequently used in the production of grenade launchers, mines, and rocket charges.

Since 2024, the plant has also been producing water-soluble fertilizers, which he said have been adapted to serve military chemical needs as part of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The chemical plant is part of the EuroChem Group, owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, who is currently sanctioned by Canada, the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Russia evading oil sanctions with illegal transfers near Greece, Cyprus, HUR says

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The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) destroyed three Russian air defense systems using drones in the occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast on June 14, HUR says.

"Strike drone masters of the Department of Active Operations of the HUR of the Ukrainian defense ministry discovered and destroyed expensive air defense systems of the Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region," HUR reported in a post to Telegram.

Ukraine's military regularly strikes military targets in Russian-occupied territories and deep within Russia in an attempt to diminish Moscow's fighting power as it continues its war against Ukraine.

A Russian Buk-M3, a Pantsyr S1, and a 9S19 Imbir radar from the S-300V air defense system were destroyed in the Ukrainian drone attack.

"The video shows a stunning maneuver of a Ukrainian drone dodging a Muscovite anti-aircraft missile, as well as episodes of successful fire strikes," HUR's statement said.

On June 1, Ukraine launched a game-changing drone attack on four key Russian military airfields, damaging 41 planes, including heavy bombers and rare A-50 spy planes.

Kyiv claimed it disabled 34% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet in what is seen as one of the most daring operations during Russia's full-scale war.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency was behind explosions near Desantnaya Bay in Russia's far eastern Vladivostok on May 30, which reportedly damaged military personnel and equipment, a source in HUR told the Kyiv Independent.

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The Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell