The naval squadron of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, made up of four of its most precious warships, carried out this Tuesday exercises with high precision missiles at an undetermined point in the Atlantic on its way to Havana, where military maneuvers are going to be carried out that have raised enormous expectations.
Far from trying to go unnoticed or avoid hurting sensitivities (or rather the opposite), the Russian fleet has been in charge of announce in style its arrival at the Cuban port, scheduled for this Wednesday.
The military exercises have been announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense itself, which has indicated through the Telegram social network that “the ships of the Northern Fleet carry out exercises with high-precision missiles in the Atlantic.”
The Russian squadron is made up of the frigate Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the fleet oil tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker. The four members of the fleet are among the best and most feared representatives of the Russian naval force.
Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov It is the standard of the latest generation of frigates of the Russian Navy, and was the protagonist in January 2023 by a controversial exercise to train the launch of Tsirkon hypersonic missiles in the Atlantic using a computer simulation.
For his part, the Kazan is a nuclear powered submarine with the ability to fire cruise missiles that became operational in 2021.
Moscow noted that the squadron “practices high-precision missile launches through cyber modeling against naval targets.” The targets used represent naval groups of a virtual enemy more than 600 kilometers away, according to Efe.
Defense noted that several days earlier the Gorshkov frigate practiced air defense exercises with AK-192M artillery systems and Palash anti-aircraft missiles.
Last week the Cuban Government confirmed that the Russian squadron will visit the port of Havana between June 12 and 17.
“The visit corresponds to the historical friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation and is strictly in accordance with international regulations” signed by Havana, according to the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
Havana added that “none of the ships carry nuclear weapons, so their stopover in our country does not represent a threat to the region.”
The statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that upon arrival at the port of Havana on June 12, the frigate Gorshkov will fire 21 salutes “as a salute to the nation”, gesture that will be replicated from the fortresses of 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.
