Russia Visits Cuba For The Second Time In Two Months As Russia Continues To "Send A Message To Washington"
The Russian patrol ship Neustrashimy-class patrol frigate, Smolny-class training/cargo vessel, accompanied by support vessels from the Baltic Fleet made a port call in Havana on Saturday.
HAVANA - Three Russian warships arrived in Cuba for the second time in the last two months as Moscow continues to strengthen ties with Havana and show “friendship and collaboration”, according to Cuban defense officials who announced the port call.
The Russian patrol ship Neustrashimy-class patrol frigate, Smolny-class training/cargo vessel, accompanied by support vessels from the Baltic Fleet made a port call in Havana on Saturday and are expected to depart Cuba on July 30th.
The visit comes after Four Russian vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine, a fleet sea tanker, a salvage tug, and a frigate docked in Havana, Cuba for a planned visit from June 12th, to June 17th, 2024.
The Russian vessels that visited Havana in June included:
The Admiral Gorshkov Frigate
Kazan Nuclear-powered Submarine
Pashin Fleet Sea Tanker
Nikolai Chiker Salvage Tug
U.S. military vessels reported to be tracking the Russian forces in the region included:
The USS Truxtun destroyer
USS Donald Cook Guided-missile destroyer
(USCGC) Stone - US Coast Guard patrol vessel
P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance plane for surveillance
Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, commander of the detachment of the Russian Baltic Fleet ships was reported by Russian state-run news as thanking Cuban authorities for the opportunity and adding the “special nature” of relations between Moscow and Havana.
“We are grateful to the Cuban side for the opportunity to provide the crews and cadets with rest, since there are almost three thousand nautical miles behind the stern, and the ships made a long ocean crossing.
We hope that, in accordance with the visit program, the cadets and crews will be able to get acquainted with the cultural and historical sights of the republic and touch to the glorious revolutionary history of Cuba,” Gurinov said to reporters while in Havana.
“The main goal of such visits is to strengthen naval cooperation between the military sailors of our countries. This cooperation is possible thanks to the special relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Russian Federation, good neighborly, based on mutual courtesy and trust. We hope that this tradition will continue,” he added.