The US raid on Venezuela has exposed the limits of ties between Moscow and Caracas – while pointing the way for potential strategic opportunities for Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Washington’s new era of gunboat diplomacy.

Exiled journalist Evgeny Safronov, 38, fled Russia amid Vladimir Putin's crackdown on press freedom - and has now been found dead after falling from the window of his flat

After a weekslong chase across the Atlantic, the U.S. took over the Bella 1 in an operation that defied Russian warnings.

Russia has strongly condemned the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker. It heralds a new chill in relations between Moscow and Washington that could spread to other areas and affect President Donald Trump’s efforts to persuade Russia to end its nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Vladimir Putin and sees him as a bigger obstacle to peace in Ukraine than Volodymyr Zelensky, according to sources.

President Trump's actions in Venezuela also are causing unease in Western nations and giving the Kremlin fresh talking points to defend its war in Ukraine.

Hours after Trump declares Russia and Ukraine "closer than ever" to peace, Moscow claims a failed drone strike will alter its negotiating position.

A studio official said the president's appearance in Prostokvashino would be a form of "soft power" that would help promote Russia and its culture.

Trump has pushed Russia out of Latin America and seized tankers while conceding nothing in Europe.