Russia Grudging respect and unease as Moscow weighs up loss of an ally

A surprise raid on the capital in the dead of night, ending with the capture of the country's leader.

- Pjotr Sauer

Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Maduro at the Kremlin last year

By the following day, the invading power has announced it will rule the nation for an indefinite period.

That was how Vladimir Putin envisaged his full-scale invasion of Ukraine playing out in February 2022. Instead, it was Donald Trump who pulled it off in Venezuela, in an operation condemned by many as illegal, whisking away the Kremlin's ally Nicolás Maduro, who now faces trial in New York.

In public, Russian officials have reacted with anger, condemning the attack as a flagrant violation of international law and a dangerous precedent. But beyond the rhetoric, there is grudging respect - and even envy - at the effectiveness of the coup that Moscow itself once imagined, but failed to execute because of intelligence blunders and Ukraine's strong resistance.

"The operation was carried out competently," wrote the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Dva Mayora, which has close ties to the Russian military. "Most likely, this is exactly how our 'special military operation' was meant to unfold: fast, dramatic and decisive."