The US Navy and Coast Guard are shadowing three Russian warships and a nuclear-powered submarine that are due to arrive in Cuba on Wednesday and will conduct military drills in the Caribbean Sea.
A US official told CBS News that two US Navy destroyers and two ships that tow sonar equipment are shadowing the submarine, while another destroyer and a US Coast Guard cutter are following the three Russian warships, which include a frigate, a fleet oil tanker, and a tugboat.
The US ships will follow the Russian vessels to Cuba and wait for them to depart and will continue to shadow them during the drills in the Caribbean. A US official said the drills will be the first simultaneous air and naval maneuvers Russia has carried out in the Caribbean since 2019.
Both the frigate and the submarine are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, but Cuban officials said they would not be armed with nuclear weapons. US officials said they assessed that as well.
The Pentagon framed the Russian deployment as “routine” and said it doesn’t pose a threat to the US. A Russian Navy ship docked in Havana last year, and according to Newsweek, Russian naval visits to Cuba happened every year from 2013 to 2020.
But the White House has also acknowledged that the deployment could be related to US involvement in Ukraine, which has significantly escalated in recent weeks as President Biden has given Ukraine the green light to strike Russian territory with US missiles.
“Clearly, this is them signaling their displeasure about what we’re doing for Ukraine,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CBS. “So we’re going to watch it, we’re going to monitor it, it’s not unexpected. … But we don’t anticipate, we don’t expect that there’ll be any imminent threat or any threat at all, quite frankly, to American national security in the region, in the Caribbean region, or anywhere else.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov conducted live-fire drills in the Atlantic Ocean on its way to Cuba. The Admiral Gorshkov is armed with advanced hypersonic missiles.
Oh sure, what a comfort hearing this from perennial liar Kirby.
“Clearly, this is them signaling their displeasure about what we’re doing for Ukraine,” is a reminder Satan can be so polite.
So said the vacuum head. He knows very well why.
They seem to be well prepared, they brought their tug boat a key feature of any Russian naval deployment. It is their perfect right to sail the world's oceans.
Tug Boat … You just reminded me of the performance by Jill Biden as she towed her husband off stage at the Normandy celebration.
I think you should read other articles describing and picturing the sub that is in Cuba's harbor. It is the latest and the most frightening (to the Pentagon) sub in Russia's arsenal.
A fools comment
It would be maximum cool if China, Iran and Korea insured freedom of navigation along the west coast of Alaska and California. A stop in Baja California could add spice with an invite to join BRICS, The Russians might like to add to this.
Is US also shadowing their hypersonic missiles…?!
Russia may have realized that they have to explain things to Biden in terms that he can remember. I assume that he can still remember the Cuban Missile Crisis.
This administration will find it considerably more difficult to explain the presence of attack vessels in Cuba than it did in explaining to Americans that stationing NATO troops in Ukraine might be considered threatening to Moscow.
Precisely.
Clearly, this is them signaling their displeasure about what we’re doing TO Ukraine,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CBS.
Fixed it for you, Butthead.
The Gorshkov and the sub don't need nukes. Either one could take the Biden White House and the Pentagon out with conventional warheads on hypersonic missiles, for which the US has ZERO defense. They could also take out all the Navy ships in the region in a few minutes.
Andrei Martyanov comments:
Russia may also have the ability to use our satellites against us.
Details of the Gorshkov…
Admiral Gorshkov Class: Deadliest Frigate Ever Built
Details of the Kazan nuclear submarine:
Kazan Yasen-M (Project 855M) Sub Brief
This is how them sneaky Russians absorb war ship data gathered by many types of super advanced Russian computer monitored sensors.
The US lost its technical lead when students became profit centers. Russia now has the advantage; Catching up requires system change toward real democracy used to focus on choices determined by many minds.
Don't worry about China; it has become enthralled by the corporate system… We already know where that leads.
This is a G-d send for Mr. Bidet. This lovely distraction will give him something else to chirp about. Let's see what Washington does if Russia offloads nukes to Cuba. Washington would not have a leg to stand on if complaints and saber rattling occur. We have been putting nukes on Russia's borders for a long time.
This is how them sneaky Russians absorb war ship data gathered by many types of super advanced Russian computer monitored sensors.
The US lost its technical lead when students became profit centers. Russia now has the advantage; Catching up requires system change toward real democracy used to focus on choices determined by many minds.
Don't worry about China; it has become enthralled by the corporate system… We already know where that leads.
Years ago the Pentagon said that the Russians were smarter in spending money on their military. The Yazen class nuclear sub is one of the results.