USA this Thursday mobilized a submarine to the Guantanamo BayCuba, just one day after a russian naval fleet will reach Havana after carry out military maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean, which was seen by many as a show of force.
The US Southern Command reported that it is the USS Helenaa nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, and ruled out that its transfer to the area responds to a threat due to the presence of Kremlin ships on the island.
“This is not a surprise, we have seen them make these types of port calls before. Of course We take it seriously but these exercises do not pose a threat to the United States“, indicated Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh, who added that the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine, the oil tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker are making a “routine port visit.”
Singh even explained that it could be expected increased Russian activity around the United States under the argument of global exercisesat least during the summer, and they are not ruled out stopovers in Venezuelaa former ally of the Kremlin.
However, Washington continues to monitor these operations since they occur in a climate of growing tension between the United States and Russia, within the framework of the war in Ukraine. Less than two weeks ago, the president Joe Biden authorized kyiv to use their weapons in offensives on Russian territory close to the border of Kharkov where, at the beginning of May, Moscow began an intense offensive with almost daily bombings on civilian areas, with the aim of advancing on this front.
Ukraine must be able to “counterattack Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them,” the president explained then.
The announcement came after repeated requests by Volodimir Zelensky to the international community and generated great discontent in Vladimir Putin, who warned that he could respond with similar measures, arming those countries close to him that oppose the actions of the West.
“If they supply (weapons) to the combat zone and ask for the use of these weapons against our territory, Why don’t we have the right to do the same?“, he warned before specifying that it could be “states or even other legal entities that face certain pressure, including military pressure from those countries that send weapons to Ukraine and urge it to use them against us.”
In the midst of these crossings and the distrust with which many viewed the arrival of their ships to the waters of the Atlantic, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that “this is a practice for all States, including a maritime power.” like Russia”, so “we see no reason to worry in this case”, while the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was more blunt and accused the West of only giving rise to their claims in the face of a sign of possible escalation.
“When it comes to maneuvers or sea voyages, we immediately hear questions and the desire to know what these messages are about. Why do only signals related to our Army and Navy reach the West? Why does the West remain completely deaf and then invent the most powerful campaigns to prevent Russian signals from entering its information realm,” he questioned.
(With information from AP and Reuters)
