The Cuban armed forces announced in a statement on Thursday that three Russian Navy ships and a nuclear-powered submarine will be docked at the Port of Havana for an official visit next week.
This would put the ships only 90 miles from the U.S. homeland.
This announcement confirms the military exercises that were initially disclosed by U.S. officials on Wednesday.
The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces recently announced that the Russian missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov, the nuclear sub Kazan, the crude tanker Pashin, and the salvage tug Nikolai Chiker will be arriving on June 12 and remaining for a week.
According to the Cuban military, the Russian Navy’s visit is consistent with international law, does not constitute a security threat to the region, and is part of the “friendly” relations between the two nations.
This is due to the fact that “none of the ships carry nuclear weapons.”
On Wednesday, a U.S. official informed McClatchy and the Miami Herald that the exercises are anticipated to involve “heightened naval and air activity near the United States,” which will involve both Russian aircraft and combat naval vessels.
This will be the first coordinated air and sea exercise by Russia in the Western Hemisphere in five years.
in the Atlantic Ocean, the Admiral Gorshkov frigate conducted an artillery discharge exercise at an air target.
In 2018, the warship was incorporated into the Navy and was upgraded to accommodate hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles, a highly sophisticated and costly missile that was recently developed by Russia.
The Kazan submarine, which was recently integrated into the fleet in 2021, is capable of transporting long-range precision missiles that can eliminate targets on land, in the sea, and underwater.
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