Four ships, including the Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, arrived in Cuba on a five-day visit. The fleet arrived at Havana’s Malecón seafront boulevard port on Wednesday (June 12). Cuba, Russia’s long-time ally, welcomed the fleet with a 21-gun salute. Qatar-based media Al Jazeera reported this news.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the four Russian ships equipped with various advanced weapons, including hypersonic missiles Zircon, cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, conducted high-level precision missile weapons training in the Atlantic Ocean on their way to Cuba.
Havana is only 160 kilometers from the US Naval Air Station in southern Florida.
The unusual deployment of the Russian Navy so close to the United States is seen as an attempt by Moscow to show its strength. Earlier, after a renewed Russian offensive in northeastern Kharkiv, Washington and the West allowed their weapons to be used to strike inside Moscow. Moscow sent warships to Havana amid ongoing tensions with the Western world over the Ukraine war.
The warships are a warning to Washington, said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America program at the Washington DC-based Wilson Center think tank, citing Western involvement in the Ukraine-Russia war.
After a five-day stay in Havana Bay, the Russian warships may proceed to Venezuela.
Benjamin Gedan also said the exercise also sends a message to Russia’s allies in the region, including anti-US Cuba and Venezuela, that Moscow is on their side.
However, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said last week that it was just an exercise. The ships are not carrying nuclear weapons.
US officials said they are closely monitoring the situation. However, they also denied the deployment of Russian warships in Cuba.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said such drills are routine. There is no evidence that Russia has transferred any missiles to Cuba. Still, the United States will be careful, he said.
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