Russia sends ships and a nuclear submarine near the coast of Florida and Washington is on alert

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Four Russian naval ships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived yesterday, Wednesday, in Cuba, where they will anchor for five days, while Washington allowed the deployment of American warships to monitor them due to their approaching a distance of approximately 50 kilometers from the coast of South Florida.

Agence France-Presse reported that the oil tanker "Pashin" and the tugboat "Nikolai Checker", bearing the colors of the Russian flag, were the first to enter the port of Havana, followed shortly thereafter by the frigate "Admiral Gorshkov", while the nuclear submarine "Kazan" was seen on the horizon, from the Gulf. Cuban capital.

The Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces said in a statement last week: “None of the ships carry nuclear weapons, so their stop in our country does not represent a threat to the region,” explaining that the visit “strictly respects the international rules to which Cuba adheres” and responds to “historic relations of friendship.” Between Havana and Moscow.

In Washington, the Pentagon's deputy spokeswoman, Sabrina Singh, said that the arrival of these ships in Havana "is not surprising, because the Russians have previously carried out such stops on the Caribbean island."

In turn, the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, said that these ships “do not constitute a threat to the United States,” although at the same time he pointed out that this fleet “includes a nuclear-powered submarine, which is something that the fleets that came (to Cuba) did not possess.” ) before".

For its part, the North American Forces Command said in a statement published by the Miami Herald newspaper that it had deployed 3 destroyers and a reconnaissance plane in the region to monitor the Russian fleet as it approached approximately 50 kilometers from the coast of South Florida.

Last May, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel visited the Russian capital, where he attended with President Vladimir Putin the military parade that was held on the occasion of the Soviet victory over the Nazis in 1945. The visit came in the midst of tensions between Moscow and Western countries due to the war in Ukraine.

Last Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that forces from Russia and Belarus began the second phase of tactical nuclear exercises in Russia, with the aim of ensuring the readiness of personnel and military equipment in the two countries to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other.

“In accordance with the decision of the Russian President, the second phase of the non-strategic nuclear forces exercises has begun,” during which issues of joint training of units of the Armed Forces of Russia and Belarus on the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons will be discussed, the ministry stated.

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin withdrew from a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty and from a major agreement with the United States aimed at preventing the spread of weapons, and resorted to threatening nuclear weapons during the war in Ukraine.