Russian warship and a submarine arrive in Havana
HAVANA, June 12 A squadron of the Russian Navy entered the Port of Havana this Wednesday, after carrying out exercises with missiles in the Atlanticunder US surveillance and in what experts point out as a show of force from Moscow amid tensions over the war in Ukraine.
The two support ships, the oil tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker entered the bay first. Press agencies reported that they were followed by the Gorshkov frigate and the Kazan nuclear submarine.
“We have been closely monitoring the trajectories of the ships,” a US official told Reuters news agency on Tuesday night. He added that “at no time” has the Russian naval squadron, which includes a frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine, “posed a direct threat to the United States.”
As stated by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week, Russian warships do not carry nuclear weapons.
Members of the Russian community in Cuba observe the entry of the Almirante Gorshkov frigate into Havana Bay, from the Malecón. (REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini)
Opposition leaders on the island told Martí Noticias that the arrival of the Russian naval detachment to Cuba constitutes “an open provocation that the democratic world should not tolerate.” They also warned that the Havana regime is once again seeking refuge “under the wing of a power” amid the deep socioeconomic crisis that the country is experiencing.
The visit of the Russian naval squadron is Vladimir Putin’s way of reminding US President Joe Biden that “Moscow can challenge Washington in its sphere of influence,” William Leogrande, a professor at American University, told Reuters on Wednesday.
The academic added that this situation “has echoes of the Cold War, but unlike the first Cold War, Cubans feel attracted to Moscow, not by ideological affinity, but by economic necessity.”
For his part, Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies, told the Associated Press that “Russian military and defense doctrine keeps Latin America and the Caribbean in an important position.” “.
In his opinion, the region “is seen as a sphere of American influence and, therefore, is the counterweight to the projection of American power in the European theater.”
Photo:EFE
The expert added that “while this is probably nothing more than a provocation on Moscow’s part, it sends a message about Russia’s ability to project power in the Western Hemisphere with the help of its allies, and will keep the US military in “high alert while in the theater.”
As part of the naval maneuvers deployed in the Atlantic Ocean on their way towards Cuba, the warship Almirante Gorshkov and the submarine Kazan fired high-precision missiles against simulated enemy targets from a distance of more than 600 kilometers, the Ministry reported on Tuesday of Russian Defense.
To a question from Martí Noticias about the consequences that this fact could have for Washington’s policy towards Havana and relations with Moscow, a US State Department official reiterated this Tuesday that Russia’s deployments are part of a routine naval activity. and they do not represent a direct threat to the United States.
A provocation that “should not be tolerated,” say opponents of the arrival of the Russian naval squadron to Cuba
Photo:Abel Rochas FB
The Russian military exercises in the Caribbean come days after Putin suggested that Moscow could take “asymmetric measures” in other parts of the world in response to President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons to attack within what is considered its territory.
According to a statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry, the Russian naval detachment is made up of four ships: The frigate “Gorshkov”, the nuclear-powered submarine “Kazan”, the fleet oil tanker “Pashin” and the rescue tug “Nikolai Chiker”. “, as part of an official visit to the port of Havana, from June 12 to 17.
“Russia will temporarily send combat warships to the Caribbean region, and these ships will likely make port calls in Cuba and possibly Venezuela. There may also be some aircraft or flight deployments to the region,” a US official said. Department of State to Marti Noticias.
