The lightning U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro can be seen as both a benefit and a burden for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces botched an attempt to capture Ukraine’s capital and topple its leader at the start of Moscow's invasion nearly four years ago.

Russia said on Wednesday that the U.S. seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic was a violation of maritime law, and a senior lawmaker described it as "outright piracy".