HAVANA.- A Russian Navy flotilla that includes a modern frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine arrived on the shores of Havana this Wednesday morning as part of a scheduled visit that has generated great expectation due to its significance. geopolitics.
The oil tanker of the Pashin fleet, leading the flotilla, began at 7:47 a.m. local time (11:47 GMT) to pass through the narrow entrance to the bay of the Cuban capital, in front of Old Havana, under a light rain and with technical support Cuban.
According to the Cuban Government, this logistics ship is accompanied by the frigate Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker, which are scheduled to stop in Havana until June 17.
The US Department of Defense, which claimed to be following the movements of the flotilla for days, told EFE that it does not perceive this Russian movement as a threat.
However, several American warships were mobilized in the last few hours to closely follow the trajectory of the Russian flotilla, when the ships were closest to the coast of Florida (southeast of the United States).
The US Department of Defense also added that they expect the detachment to also stop at Venezuelan ports and carry out maritime and air maneuvers during the northern summer in international waters of the Caribbean Sea.
These sources showed no concern about the Russian military presence near the United States. “Russia’s deployments are part of routine naval activity and do not concern us, as they do not represent a direct threat,” they stated.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday that the flotilla took advantage of its movement through international waters in the Atlantic to carry out exercises that included the virtual launch of “high-precision” missiles.
The Gorshkov frigate, one of the latest generation of Russian frigates, began operating in 2018 and has participated in multinational maneuvers in recent years and in the exercise that trained the launch of Tsirkon hypersonic missiles from the sea in 2023.
The Kazan is a modern nuclear-powered submarine capable of firing cruise missiles that became operational in 2021.
The Ministry of the Cuban Armed Forces (Minfar) defined it as a protocol visit. He stated in a statement that this is a “historical practice” between countries with “relations of friendship and collaboration.” The Russian embassy in Havana spoke of “one more example of Russian-Cuban friendship.”
The Minfar stated, anticipating doubts, that “none of the ships are carrying nuclear weapons” and stressed that the scale “does not represent a threat to the region.”
The movement was announced shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was willing to take “asymmetric measures” after learning that several Western countries were going to allow Ukraine to use the weapons they gave it to attack Russia in its territory. territory.
In recent years there have been two visits by Russian flotillas, but neither with a nuclear submarine. The last one took place in June 2019, which was also headed by Gorshkov. For the previous one we have to go back to 2013.
In recent years, Cuba and Russia have deepened their historic relations in the political, military and economic spheres. Cubans beset mainly by the serious crisis they are suffering; the Russians to consolidate their meager network of allies and the geostrategic value of the island.
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