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Russian warships reach Cuba ahead of military exercises - just two weeks after Biden approved Ukraine using US weapons inside Russia - in ominous echo of the Cold War
Russian warships reached Cuba this week ahead of planned military exercises in echos of the cold-war missile crisis.
The fleet, made up of a frigate, a nuclear-powered submarine, an oil tanker and a rescue tug, crossed into Havana Bay after drills in the Atlantic Ocean.
US officials expect the ships to remain in the region through the summer and possibly also stop in Venezuela.
Russia is a longtime ally of Venezuela and Cuba, and its warships and aircraft have periodically made forays into the Caribbean.
But this mission comes less than two weeks after President Joe Biden authorised Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv.
Russian warships reached Cuba this week ahead of planned military exercises in echos of the cold-war missile crisis
The fleet, made up of a frigate, a nuclear-powered submarine, an oil tanker and a rescue tug, crossed into Havana Bay after drills in the Atlantic Ocean
US officials expect the ships to remain in the region through the summer and possibly also stop in Venezuela
Russia is a longtime ally of Venezuela and Cuba, and its warships and aircraft have periodically made forays into the Caribbean
‘The warships are a reminder to Washington that it is unpleasant when an adversary meddles in your near abroad,’ said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank.
Although the fleet includes a nuclear-powered submarine, a senior US administration official said that the intelligence community has determined no vessel is carrying nuclear weapons.
Russian ships have occasionally docked in Havana since 2008, when a group of Russian vessels entered Cuban waters in what state media described as the first such visit in almost two decades.
In 2015, a reconnaissance and communications ship arrived unannounced in Havana a day before the start of discussions between US and Cuban officials on the reopening of diplomatic relations.
A US State Department spokesman said that Russia’s port calls in Cuba are ‘routine naval visits’.