A navy frigate and the nuclear-powered submarine pulled into Cuba’s coast near Havana on Wednesday, ahead of air and military exercises in the Caribbean. Along with two other vessels, these Russian navy assets were scheduled to be stationed in Cuba for a five-day visit.
“This is a normal practice for all states, including such a large maritime power as Russia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, per Reuters. “So we don’t see any reason to worry in this case.”
Russia’s reassurances that the vessels in Cuba pose no harm come in spite of the fact that they are some of the Kremlin’s most lethal military assets.
For one, the Kazan submarine currently near Havana is one of the new Severodvinsk class vessels. The submarines in this class are hard to detect and have a dangerous combination of stealth and striking power — and as such, have vexed the US and NATO for years.
Also in Cuba is the Admiral Gorshkov Russian frigate, which is armed to the teeth with Putin’s prized Zircon scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missiles. The weapons, which the Kremlin claims are unbeatable, are relatively new in Moscow’s arsenal.
The Cuban foreign ministry, for its part, echoed Russia’s sentiments, saying that the vessels pose no threat, per Reuters.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that the Department of Defense is monitoring the situation, but does not anticipate any threat from the warships.
“Again, I think what’s important here is that what Russia is doing in these exercises, they don’t pose a threat to the United States, but of course we’re going to continue to monitor,” she said.
The arrival of the ships is largely seen as a flex by Russia to compensate for its major losses in the Black Sea.
In April, Ukraine said that it used drones, missiles, and other weapons in its arsenal to destroy many Russian warships.
And while US officials may be quick to say there’s no immediate threat, the Los Angeles-class USS Helena attack submarine US attack submarine sailed up to Guantanamo Bay — about 500 miles away from the Russian vessels on Thursday — shortly after Russia’s Kazan sub showed up.
The US Southern Command said in a statement on X on Thursday that the sub was there as part of a routine port visit.
Representatives for the US Southern Command and Russian defense ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
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