Military Watch Magazine: Venezuela May Receive Russia's Latest Missiles to Deter the United States
(Image caption: The "Buk-M2" air defense system deployed in Venezuela.)
American professional journal "Military Watch Magazine" reported that Russia may provide Venezuela with long-range missile systems to prevent the United States from attacking Venezuela. This system can not only strike targets on American soil but also attack American warships in the Caribbean Basin.
Alexei Zhuravlev, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, stated that Russia could supply Venezuela's armed forces with long-range cruise missiles and ballistic missile systems, which would give Venezuela a deterrent capability during periods of tension in its relations with the United States.
Zhuravlev said, "The quantity and specific models of materials being transported from Russia are currently classified, so Americans might be in for a surprise. I believe there is no obstacle to providing friendly countries with new equipment like the 'Orel' or the 'Kalibr' missiles, which have performed well in combat — at least there are no international obligations that would restrict Russia from doing so."
Meanwhile, the vice-chairman also confirmed that Russia has delivered the "Korpus" (Панцирь) short-range air defense system and the "Buk-M2" (Бук-М2) medium-range air defense system to Venezuela to enhance the operational capabilities of the Venezuelan Air Force.
Over the past few months, the United States has been continuously concentrating military forces near Venezuela's coast, with multiple sources indicating that Washington is considering an attack on Venezuela to overthrow its current government. Although Venezuela's air defense capabilities are considered the strongest in Latin America, there are still gaps in its defensive potential: it cannot effectively deter American warships hundreds of kilometers from its coast, and it has no capability to threaten targets on American soil.
Therefore, if Russia provides Venezuela with long-range cruise missiles or ballistic missile systems, it could change the situation and likely have a significant impact on Washington's decision on whether to attack Venezuela. The cost of acquiring and operating such missile systems is relatively low (especially compared to modern fighter jets), providing Venezuela with asymmetric deterrent capability.
On November 21, 2024, the intermediate-range ballistic missile system "Orel" was used in combat for the first time against Ukrainian targets, making this missile project known to the world. On June 23, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that the system had started mass production. To break through enemy air defense systems, "Orel" is equipped with multiple hypersonic warheads, each capable of independently re-targeting. It is estimated that its range reaches 4,000 km — meaning that if Washington attempts to attack Venezuela, the system could strike most areas of the United States mainland.
Providing the "Orel" system to Venezuela will be an unprecedented escalation toward the United States since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Although the spread of such strategic ballistic missile systems is legally unobjectionable, the authors of "Military Watch Magazine" believe that this largely violates international norms ("Russia Today" news agency note: here, the author clearly equates "threat to the United States" with "violation of international norms"). However, Russia's previous decision to provide the "Orel" missile to its neighboring country Belarus indicates that exporting the system is not entirely impossible.
In addition to "Orel," there are other alternatives worth noting that can be quickly delivered and deployed, including the 9M729 "Novator" land-based cruise missile, as well as the "Bastion" (Бастион) coastal defense system equipped with the R-800 medium-range anti-ship cruise missile. Among them, the 9M729 cruise missile has a range of 2,500 km, sufficient to cover all targets in Florida, USA.
In previous periods when relations between Caracas and Washington escalated, Russia sent Tu-160 strategic bombers to Venezuelan airports to carry out missions. If the Venezuelan armed forces are equipped with "autonomous strike capability" — capable of striking targets on American soil and attacking American naval vessels in the Caribbean Basin — the effect could be more significant, as it would reduce the burden on Russian armed forces protecting their partners.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569579496450392622/
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