Havana: A Russian
navy frigate
and a
nuclear-powered submarine
churned into
Havana harbour
Wednesday, a stopover the US and
Cuba
said posed no threat but which was widely seen as a Russian show of force.
Cuba - a long-time ally of Russia - saluted the ships' arrival with cannon fire from the harbour. The Admiral Gorshkov frigate, and later the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, half submerged with its crew on deck, were accompanied by a tugboat and fuel ship that had arrived earlier in the morning.
The four Russian vessels sailed to Cuba on Wednesday after conducting "high-precision missile weapons" training in the Atlantic Ocean, Russia's defence ministry said Wednesday.
The submarine and frigate carry Zircon hypersonic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and Onyx anti-ship missiles, the ministry said. Cuba said last week that the visit was standard practice by naval vessels from nations friendly to Havana. The communist-run govt's foreign ministry said the fleet carried no nuclear weapons.
The US has been monitoring the Russian vessels as they skirted the nearby Florida coast, but has said they pose no threat. White House NSA Jake Sullivan said such naval drills were routine. He said there was no evidence of Russia transferring any missiles to Cuba, but the US would be vigilant.
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