Russian warships carried out maneuvers in the Atlantic on his way to Cubaas part of Moscow’s efforts to project power amid tensions with the West over the war in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan carried out the exercise, which was intended to simulate a missile attack against a group of enemy ships.
According to the ministry, the exercises consisted of computer simulation of an attack against maritime targets located more than 600 kilometers (more than 320 nautical miles) away.
Admiral Gorshkov is equipped with the new Zircon hypersonic missiles. The weapon has been designed to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines, and could be used against both enemy ships and land targets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Zircon as a powerful weapon capable of penetrating any existing missile defense by flying nine times faster than the speed of sound to a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers (more than 620 miles).
Admiral Gorshkov and the Kazan are accompanied by two support ships on their visit to Havana, which, according to Cuban officials, reflects the “historically friendly relations” between Russia and Cuba.
Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said Russian warships will remain in Havana between Wednesday and June 17. He stated that none of them carry nuclear weapons and that their presence “does not represent a threat to the region.”
The Cuban statement came after The United States announced that Washington had been tracking warships and Russian aircraft that were expected to arrive in the Caribbean for a military exercise.
It is not the first time that Russia has sent its warships to the Caribbean, but this week’s visit comes after the Putin’s warning that Moscow could supply weapons to the West’s adversaries in various parts of the world in response to the fact that Ukraine’s Western allies have declared that they will allow Ukraine to use its weapons to attack targets in Russia.
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