Next week Cuba and Russia will revive their traditional alliance with an act of notable symbolism that, according to some sources in the United States, may be an excuse to carry out military maneuvers in which the best of the Russian fleet will participate.
Next week (June 12 to 17) the port of Havana will receive a russian naval detachment cpmposed by three ships and a nuclear submarine within the framework of a “visit corresponds to the historical friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation and strictly adheres to the international regulations” signed by Havana, as the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hastened to clarify, reports Eph.
The note does not specify whether these are military exercises, contrary to recently published information from US sources that Russian ships were traveling to the Caribbean Sea to participate in maneuvers and could stop at ports in Cuba and Venezuela.
“None of the ships carry nuclear weapons, so their stopover in our country does not represent a threat to the region,” clarified the Cuban Foreign Ministry, which also indicated that “visits by naval units from other countries are a historical practice.” with nations with whom the country maintains “relations of friendship and collaboration.”
The ships that make up the Russian naval detachment are, according to the statement, the frigate Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the fleet oil tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker.
The Russian frigate Almirante Gorshkovthe lead ship of the latest generation of frigates of the Russian navy, took place in January 2023 an exercise for train the launch of hypersonic missiles Tsirkon in the Atlantic through a computer simulation, recalls the Efe agency.
In February 2023, it participated in joint exercises with South Africa and China, and last March it joined the joint exercises carried out by the navies of China, Iran and Russia in the Gulf of Oman.
For its part, the Kazan is a nuclear-powered submarine with the capacity to fire cruise missiles that came into operation in 2021.
The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry indicated that upon its arrival at the port of Havana on June 12, the frigate Gorshkov will fire 21 salutes “as a salute to the Nation”, a gesture that will be replicated from the fortresses in the capital’s bay.
He added that during the Russian visit the sailors will carry out a program of activities with courtesy visits and tours of historical and cultural interest.
