The New York Times reported on Saturday that senior US officials headed for Venezuela Saturday to meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government, presumably in a bid to isolate Moscow from its foreign supporters.

The newspaper reported current and former US officials as stating that Russia's military activity in Ukraine brought attention to Moscow's Latin American friends, prompting the US to assess a potential threat in the event of further escalation of tensions.

Maduro's government, according to the publication, was keen to resume negotiations with the United States. Venezuela's reserves might be used to compensate for Russian oil exports, which the West is considering restricting.

It is currently unknown who will be part of the US delegation to Venezuela and with whom they will meet.

Last week, Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine in response to the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics' requests for assistance in combating Ukrainian troops' aggression.

The special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military facilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, and the civilian population is not at risk. Moscow has made it clear that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine.