A group of modern and powerful Russian warships will arrive next week in the Caribbean Sea, according to US government sources, in order to carry out military maneuvers a few miles from the Florida peninsula, in the midst of unprecedented tensions between the United States. and Russia the two nations with the greatest nuclear power in the world
A statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Thursday the visit to that island nation of the convoy of four Russian ships, which according to the official entity responds to “ historical practices” of their government with nations with which they maintain “relations of friendship and collaboration”.
Which are the Russian ships that will visit the territory of Cuba?
The ships, which according to the statement will remain in Cuban territory between June 12 and 17, are presumably the same ones that were detected by the United States government, according to which they are traveling to the Caribbean area to carry out a military exercise in the next few weeks. weeks.
According to the statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry, the Russian ships traveling to the Caribbean are: the Almirante Gorshkov-class frigate, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the fleet oil tanker Pashin and the rescue and rescue tug Nikolai Chiker.
These are modern and technologically updated vessels, launched between 2017 and 2019, which have participated in various military exercises around the world.
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate is the lead ship of the most modern group of Russian frigates that stands out for having ‘stealth’ technology in its construction, which makes them more difficult to track using conventional methods such as radar, visual, sonar and infrared, for what the Kremlin’s propaganda media often call “the invisible frigate.”
The construction of this type of frigate, at a cost of $250 million per unit, was carried out in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, where another 10 units are expected to be completed by 2027.
For its part, the Kazan submarine is only the second unit built of the second-generation Russian ‘Yasen-type’ nuclear-powered submersible vessels, which They carry and launch land attack cruise missiles and can also be armed with anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles.
Although the original Yasen nuclear submarine technology dates back to the Soviet era, the current design is smaller and cheaper to build, and features a nuclear reactor with a more modern and, presumably, more reliable cooling system.
The other two ships are support ships for the frigate and the submarine.
The Nikolai Chiker is a rescue vessel, or wreck tug, designed specifically to rescue ships that are in danger of sinking, or that have already sunk or run aground, while the presence of the tanker is presumably necessary to supply fuel and lubricants. to the other boats on the long round trips from Russia to the Caribbean Sea.
USA: the presence of Russian warships in the Caribbean is “notable but not worrying”
According to a statement from Havana, the visit “corresponds with the historical friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation and strictly complies with the international regulations to which Cuba is a State Party.”
However, the naval deployment, which was not warned by Russia to the United States in violation of international customs that govern this type of military maneuver, takes place amid unprecedented tensions between the two nations.
The visit of Russian ships to an area very close to US territory comes shortly after President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could take similar measures in other parts of the world in response to President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use weapons provided by the United States to attack inside Russia (although the order only allows their use to defend Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city).
Putin told a group of journalists at the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg that Russia could supply its “allies” in the West with long-range weapons, similar to those provided by NATO members to Ukraine.
“If someone thinks that it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply our weapons?” Putin said.
Still, U.S. officials called the presence of Russian ships in the Caribbean “notable but not concerning” and reiterated that militaries around the world have the right to conduct exercises in international waters, something they do regularly.
The Cuban statement clarifies, however, that: “ None of the ships carry nuclear weapons.so its scale in our country does not represent any threat to the region.”
US officials indicated that they expected the ships to also make a stop in Venezuela, but so far the regime in Caracas has not confirmed if or when the Russian naval detachment will visit that nation’s territory.
With information from The Associated Press.
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