WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has been tracking Russian ships and combat aircraft that are scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks in the Caribbean for a military exercise, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The maneuvers would be a display of force by Russia at a time when tensions are escalating over Western military support for Ukraine.
The vessels are also expected to make possible port stops in Venezuela and Cuba, while Russia establishes a military presence in the Western Hemisphere that, according to senior officials in President Joe Biden’s government, was attention-grabbing but not worrying. The drills, which will be closely monitored by the U.S. military, will include a “handful” of Russian ships and support vessels, the two officials said.
It is not the first time that Russia has sent ships to the Caribbean. However, this exercise comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted that Moscow could take “asymmetric measures” elsewhere in the world in response to Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to launch attacks. inside Russian territory with the aim of protecting Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine.
The officials, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to provide details that had not been publicly announced, said the exercise is “certainly” part of a broader Russian response to U.S. support for Ukraine, but also It is an attempt by Putin to demonstrate that his navy is still capable of projecting global power after losing several vessels in Ukrainian attacks.
Ukrainian military officials said in March that Russia had lost a third of its Black Sea fleet to Ukrainian attacks over the past two years of war.
Russia did not notify the United States about the upcoming maneuvers, but the US Navy has been tracking the movements of these vessels, the officials said.
Although Russia did not notify the United States — which countries typically do to avoid misunderstandings — officials said militaries around the world have the right to conduct maneuvers in international waters and do so regularly. About 20 NATO countries. including the United States, will kick off BALTOPS 24, a major naval and air exercise in the Baltic region near Russia starting Friday.
Officials said they expect Russian ships to remain in the region throughout the summer and will likely conduct similar follow-up exercises in the Caribbean after concluding these maneuvers.
Officials said Congress was notified Wednesday about upcoming Russian military exercises
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
