In a bold maneuver, Russia has docked three warships just 90 miles from Miami, Florida, marking a provocative visit to Havana, Cuba, as geopolitical tensions with the U.S. simmer.
In a provocative move, Russia has docked three warships just 90 miles from Miami, Florida, as three vessels from Russia’s Baltic Fleet arrived in Havana, Cuba, this weekend for a four-day "work visit" set to conclude on Tuesday.
The Russian state news agency Tass reported that the warships — the training ship Smólny, the patrol ship Neustrahimiy, and the offshore oil tanker Yelnya — will carry out an "extensive program" during their stay, including courtesy visits to officials from the Cuban Navy and other authorities of the communist Castro regime.
The Russian crew will also tour Havana and visit "places of historical and cultural interest," according to the Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Cuban defense officials described the port call as a "historical practice" and a show of "friendship and collaboration." The Russian fleet was welcomed with a cannon salute upon arrival on Saturday.
This visit marks the second time a Russian fleet has visited Cuba in less than two months. In June, Russia sent the Admiral Gorshkov frigate, the nuclear submarine Kazan, and two accompanying vessels to Cuba after conducting naval exercises in the Caribbean Sea.
“The ships’ arrival aroused the keen interest of Havana residents who greeted our sailors from the city embankment,” stated the Russian embassy in Cuba. The training ship Smólny was open to the general public on July 28-29.
Castro regime officials have not provided further details on the latest Russian fleet stop, describing it as part of a "historical practice between the Caribbean nation and friendly countries." An unnamed U.S. Northern Command spokesperson told Reuters that “Russia’s deployments in the Atlantic pose no direct threat or concern to the United States.”
Russia, a major financier of the struggling Castro regime, has received unwavering support from Cuba in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Reports since 2023 indicate that Cuban citizens are being conscripted and sent to fight for Russia against Ukraine under false pretenses, with promises of fast-tracked Russian citizenship after their service.
Although the Castro regime claimed last year to have "dismantled" trafficking networks recruiting Cubans to fight for Russia, Bloomberg reported in mid-July that Russia continues to enlist Cubans through “informal channels,” eventually conscripting them to fight in Ukraine.
In recent years, the Castro regime has increasingly sought Russian aid to alleviate Cuba’s severe economic and humanitarian crisis, a result of over six decades of communist mismanagement.
Since 2023, Russia has sent growing amounts of supplies such as cooking oil and wheat to Cuba, with promises in March to supply the nation with a "steady supply" of hydrocarbons, fertilizers, and basic products. That same month, Russia resumed oil shipments to Cuba, which the Castro regime has used to address ongoing fuel shortages and keep its power plants running.
Officials from both regimes held talks in Havana last week regarding the construction of a new oil refinery in Cuba, which would join the nation’s four other rundown refineries.
“Cuba has crude oil; it is logical not to import oil products but to produce them here,” said Russian Duma Deputy Speaker Alexander Babakov. “The largest Russian companies could participate here.”
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