Russia dispatches vessels from its Northern Fleet to Cuba.
Moscow is set to dispatch several Northern Fleet vessels to Cuba for a port visit. This move is seen as a response to the recent weapon supply to Kiev, as per a US official.
Following an announcement by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, four ships from the Northern Fleet - the frigate "Admiral Gorshkov", the atomic submarine "Kazan", the oil tanker "Pashin", and the salvage ship "Nikolay Chiker" - are scheduled to make an official port call to Havana, from June 12th to 17th. The ships will not carry nuclear weapons and pose no threat to the region during their stay in the Havana harbor.
The US newspaper, "Miami Herald", revealed on Wednesday evening, based on an unidentified high-ranking US government official, that Russia is planning to conduct military exercises in the Caribbean with aircraft and warships in the coming weeks. These would mark the first drills in the western hemisphere involving air and sea components since the start of Russian aggression in Ukraine. The official also mentioned potential port visits by warships in Cuba and Venezuela as part of this.
These nations are allies of Russia. The US government views this step as a retaliation for granting Ukraine permission to use American weapons against Russian targets. The official mentions that Moscow is intent on demonstrating its maritime strength and alarming the US.
Just 170 kilometers away from Key West in Florida, Havana holds historical significance, as the infamous Cuban Crisis in 1962 comes to mind. At that time, US reconnaissance planes uncovered Soviet medium-range missiles on Cuba. USSR refused to pull them back, prompting US President John F. Kennedy to threaten military force. Eventually, Moscow backed down and withdrew the missiles, and the US provided a non-aggression pledge to Cuba while removing its own missiles from Turkey.
The "Moscow Times"
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In response to the supply of weapons to Ukraine by the USA, Russia has planned military exercises in the Caribbean involving aircraft and warships, potentially including port visits in Cuba and Venezuela. The upcoming port call to Havana by four Russian vessels - the "Admiral Gorshkov", "Kazan", "Pashin", and "Nikolay Chiker" - from June 12th to 17th, is part of this strategy.
