A group of Russian naval vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine, will visit Cuba next week as part of “historically friendly relations,” the Cuban government said Thursday.
“The Russian frigate Gorshkov, the nuclear submarine Kazan, the tanker Bashin and the tug Nikolai Chikar” will visit the port of Havana between June 12 and 17, Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces said in a statement released by the Foreign Ministry. .
Cuba insists that none of the ships are carrying nuclear weapons and that their size poses no threat to the region.
“Visits by naval units of other countries are a historical practice of the revolutionary government with countries that maintain friendly and cooperative relations,” the statement added.
Moscow did not confirm the information provided by Cuba. CNN reached out to the Russian government for comment, but did not receive a response.
It is not the first time Russian naval vessels have been sent to Cuba, a key ally of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, which briefly fired nuclear missiles at Moscow’s behest during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Last July, the Russian Navy’s training ship Perekop arrived in Havana for a four-day visit.
The latest influx appears to be the largest such in years.
Cuba is increasingly dependent on Russian oil and aid as the communist country faces its worst economic crisis in decades.
Days after Cuba’s announcement, US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to launch limited strikes on Russian territory with US munitions. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Western countries “supplying weapons to a conflict zone is always a bad thing.”
“Ultimately, if we see these countries waging war against us, and what they are doing is directly waging war against the Russian Federation, we have the right to act in the same way,” Putin said. Wednesday is fair.
In response, Putin added, “We will improve our air defense systems to destroy missiles.” “Why doesn’t Russia have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to regions of the world where attacks on critical installations of countries that do this against Russia take place?” And Putin questioned.