Russia has announced preliminary agreements to sell its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, to Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and India, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The deals total 1.2 billion doses on a vaccine that began a late-stage trial on 40,000 volunteers in late August, the Journal reported.

There are almost two dozen other countries negotiating with Russia for the Sputnik V, which is named after the Soviet Union satellite used to compete with the United States during the Cold War space race.

U.S. experts and pundits have criticized Russia for the speed at which it has produced a vaccine, questioning its efficacy and safety, because it used small-scale tests on just 76 volunteers before securing approval, the Journal reported.

"The view here is that the vaccine could win Russia some hearts and minds in the non-West and boost its geopolitical leverage," Moscow-based political analyst Vladimir Frolov told the Journal.

Russia is planning to produce 30 million doses for its own population by the end of the year.

"We will focus on saving people in Latin America, Middle East, and Asia, where most of the requests come from, because these people are not thinking about politics to stifle Russia and to constrain Russia, but they want to protect their citizens," Russian Direct Investment Fund chief Kirill Dmitriev told the Journal. "We have people who are begging to have the vaccine because they looked into the science and they understand that it works."

• Biochip Might Be Used to Detect COVID by Next Year
• Adm. Giroir: Vax Should Go to Nursing Homes, Teachers, Vulnerable