On June 12, 2024, the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan (L) and the Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate of the Russian Navy’s visiting Cuba unit arrived at the port of Havana.
Adalberto Roque | AFP | Getty Images
A Russian naval ship sailed into the port of Havana on Wednesday, a stop that the United States and Cuba said posed no threat but was widely viewed as a show of force by Russia as tensions rise over the war in Ukraine.
A small group of fishermen and curious onlookers stood on the Malecon promenade in a drizzle to greet the ship as it passed the 400-year-old Morro Castle at the entrance to the port.
The first to arrive were the fuel ship “Akademik Pashin” and the tugboat “Nikolay Chiker”, while Russian Navy frigates and nuclear-powered submarines were waiting offshore and were expected to enter the port in mid-morning.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the day before that the frigate and submarine were part of four Russian ships that arrived near Cuba on Wednesday, conducting missile drills in the Atlantic on their way to the island.
Cuba said last week that the visit was standard practice for naval vessels from friendly countries to Havana. The Communist government’s foreign ministry said the ships did not carry nuclear weapons, a claim echoed by U.S. officials.
“We have been closely monitoring the ship’s route,” an unnamed U.S. official told Reuters late on Tuesday. “At no time did these ships or submarines pose a direct threat to the United States.”
Havana is only 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Key West, Florida, home to the United States Naval Air Station. William Leogrand, a professor at American University, said the timing of the visit – as the Biden administration considers how far to go in helping defend Ukraine from Russia – suggests more than just “standard approach” ”.
“The Russian warship visit is Putin’s way of reminding Biden that Moscow can challenge Washington within its sphere of influence,” Leogrand said.
The stopover also coincides with Cuba’s worst social and economic crisis in decades, with shortages of everything from food to medicine and fuel and growing discontent in the streets.
“This … echoes the Cold War, but unlike the first Cold War, Cubans were drawn to Moscow not by ideological affinity but by economic necessity,” Leogrande said.
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