Atomic alert off the coast of Cuba. The Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces announced that “a nuclear-powered submarine and three other Russian warships will dock on the Caribbean island next week.” Havana specifies that among the vessels expected in Cuba are the submarine Kazan and the missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov. “None of the ships are carrying nuclear weapons,” assures Cuba. However, the boats will be a stone’s throw from the coasts of the United States for 5 days at the height of international tensions around Ukraine, making America relive the nightmare of a new crisis of missiles.
A statement specifies that the group, which will conclude its visit on June 17, will be composed not only of the frigate Gorshkov and the nuclear submarine Kazan, but also of the fleet tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker. Upon arrival, it is specified, “21 salvos will be fired from one of the ships, as a sign of greeting to the Cuban nation”, a gesture that will be reciprocated by an artillery battery from the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress.
The Russian sailors, reports the Prensa Latina news agency, “will carry out a program which, among other activities, includes a meeting with the government authorities of the Cuban capital and visits to places of cultural and historical interest”. According to the ministerial note, the visit “responds to the historic friendly relations between Cuba and Russia”, as well as respecting “the international norms of which Cuba is a state party”. “The visits to the island by naval units of other countries with which Cuba maintains relations of friendship and cooperation – it is finally specified – are a historical practice of the revolutionary Cuban government”.
