The US president has claimed that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country

Russia's Foreign Ministry has condemned what it called a US act of "armed aggression" against Venezuela on Saturday, calling for restraint and warning against further escalation. US President Donald Trump has confirmed strikes took place, claiming that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country

Venezuelan officials earlier said the country had been directly attacked by the US after explosions were heard in the capital, Caracas, on Saturday. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil accused Washington of trying to gain control of the Latin American nation's natural resources.

Moscow reaffirmed its solidarity with the Venezuelan people and supported calls for an urgent UN Security Council meeting. The foreign ministry stressed that Latin America should remain a zone of peace and that Venezuela must be free to determine its own future without external interference.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, described the latest strikes on Venezuela as a US military operation aimed at changing an "undesirable" regime, accusing Washington of seeking to impose its will on the country.

Venezuela declared a state of emergency shortly after explosions. The government has said the attacks also took place in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

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The strikes come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Caracas. Trump has repeatedly accused Venezuela's government of facilitating large-scale drug trafficking and has authorized expanded US military operations targeting suspected smuggling routes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Maduro has rejected the allegations, accusing the US of aggression and of using anti-drug operations as a pretext to topple his government. He has warned that any direct military action on his country would be met with resistance.