In a significant display of strengthening ties between Cold War allies, a group of Russian Navy ships, including the modern frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, arrived in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday morning. The convoy, which also included a rescue tug and an oil tanker, was greeted with a 21-gun salute from the Gorshkov and cannon fire from an 18th-century Spanish colonial fort guarding the port.
The arrival of the Russian vessels, marking the largest show of force by the Russians with their longstanding ally Cuba in recent years, drew the attention of onlookers and fishermen who lined the seafront to witness the event. Members of the small Russian community in Cuba and Russian diplomats carrying national flags were also present to welcome the crews.
The four Russian ships, now docked in berths typically occupied by cruise ships, will carry out a five-day official visit to the Caribbean island, just 90 miles from Florida, as tensions rise between the US and Russia over the ongoing war in Ukraine. Starting Thursday, the general public in Cuba will be allowed to tour the Gorshkov frigate for four hours each day for three days, according to a Russian diplomatic source.
En route to Cuba, the Russian warships conducted drills in the Atlantic, practicing the use of high-precision missile weapons using computer simulation for naval targets located at a distance of over 600 km, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense and state media TASS.
The US military has deployed ships and planes, including the USS Truxtun, USS Donald Cook, Coast Guard vessel USCGC Stone, and a P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance plane, to monitor Russia’s military exercises in the Atlantic and the Caribbean and track the Russian vessels as they transited the Atlantic in recent days. Pentagon and State Department officials have emphasized that the Russian activity is routine and poses no threat to the US, noting that Cuba has hosted Russian ships every year between 2013 and 2020.
The arrival of the Russian ships signals Moscow’s strengthening ties with Havana in light of Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Cuba, which is increasingly reliant on Russian oil and aid, weathers its worst economic crisis in decades. The visit also serves as a reminder of the historical significance of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when Cuba briefly hosted Soviet nuclear missiles during the height of the Cold War.
Credit: CNN
