MOSCOW, January 3. /TASS/. The United States has destroyed almost all of Venezuela's airfields, including those hosting F-16 fighter jets, and paralyzed all maritime and air logistics, said Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"Virtually all the country's maritime and air logistics facilities have been destroyed. There is currently no reliable information about the fate of the Su-30 fighters deployed in Venezuela, previously supplied as part of military-technical cooperation. However, I have information that almost all airfields were destroyed, including those where the F-16 and military transport aircraft were based. Both the air and sea logistics of Venezuela are currently virtually paralyzed, both military and civilian," Stepanov, who is also a senior researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences said.

According to Stepanov, the US air force first suppressed Venezuela's echelon air defense system, after which helicopter groups with paratroopers penetrated the capital. "Since the air defense system has already been immobilized, and the country's airspace is under the control of the US Air Force and the onboard systems of the aircraft carrier strike group, there is reason to believe that de facto remote control has been established over the entire country," he told TASS in an interview.

The expert said that, most likely, the United States has already achieved its main goals, but it is possible to conduct further local operations to capture the country's military and political leadership.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil Pinto said that the United States had attacked civilian and military facilities in Caracas. He called Washington's actions military aggression. A state of emergency was declared in Venezuela. US President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States has carried out large-scale strikes against Venezuela. According to him, President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and taken out of the country.