Russian military officials said a group of warships heading to the Caribbean conducted long-range strike drills in the Atlantic Ocean as it was confirmed that the ships docked at a port in Cuba.
In response to the Russian naval drills, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on June 12 at a press briefing that the Department of Defense doesn’t consider the ships a threat. The U.S. Northern Command also downplayed the Russian ships’ appearance in the Caribbean, saying they believe it to be routine activity.
Previously, Cuba’s Foreign Ministry had said that four Russian warships would be coming to the communist country.
Russia is a longtime ally of Venezuela and Cuba, and its warships and aircraft have periodically made forays into the Caribbean. But this mission comes less than two weeks after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, prompting President Vladimir Putin to suggest his military could respond with similar measures elsewhere in the world.
Russian ships have occasionally docked in Havana since 2008, when a group of Russian vessels entered Cuban waters in what state media described as the first such visit in almost two decades. In 2015, a reconnaissance and communications ship arrived unannounced in Havana a day before the start of discussions between U.S. and Cuban officials on the reopening of diplomatic relations.
Also on June 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosted his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez, for talks in Moscow. Speaking to reporters after the talks, Lavrov thanked the Cuban authorities for their position on Ukraine.
“From the very beginning, Havana gave an assessment of what was happening outlining the absolutely correct, true reasons for what was unfolding [in Ukraine], and what was being prepared by the West for many years,” Mr. Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
“Clearly, this is them signaling their displeasure about what we’re doing for Ukraine,” Mr. Kirby said.
Meanwhile, the Cuban ministry’s statement said that while in Cuba, the Russian sailors will visit with various Cuban government officials and places of “historical and cultural interest,” as well as undertaking other “activities.”
The Russian ships are anticipated to remain in Havana harbor through June 17, according to the Cuban statement.
The arrival also comes as Mr. Putin told an international conference of top news editors in June that Moscow may supply its weapons to other countries in what appeared to be a warning to the United States and NATO. He also made overtures about a “symmetrical” response to the United States having provided arms to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
“We are thinking that if someone thinks it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone in order to strike at our territory and create problems for us, then why do we not have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to those regions of the world where there will be strikes on sensitive facilities of those countries that are doing this to Russia?” he asked.
“So the response could be symmetrical. We will think about this.”
“There is a fairly tense situation on the European continent, which is provoked every day by new hostile decisions and actions of European capitals and Washington toward Russia,“ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to state-controlled media. ”Provocation occurs on a daily basis. Therefore, of course, such exercises and maintaining combat readiness are very important for us.”
