Russian visit

USA also sends submarine off Cuba’s coast

Archive image of the USS Helena from 2008(Bild: Wikipedia/U.S. Navy)

While Cuba and Russia are celebrating their "excellent relations" with a visit by Russian naval vessels, which will be in Havana harbor in the coming days, a submarine of the US armed forces also arrived in Guantánamo Bay on Thursday.

The USS Helena was sent to Guantánamo Bay as part of a previously planned maneuver, the responsible regional command (Southcom) announced on Thursday. It was therefore a "routine visit".

Archive image of the USS Helena from 2008(Bild: Wikipedia/U.S. Navy)

According to local media reports, 21 salvos were fired upon the arrival of the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov on Wednesday. A nuclear submarine was also sighted off the coast. According to the Cuban government, the reason for the visit from June 12 to 17 is the historic friendship between the two countries. However, US media reported that Russia was planning military exercises in the Caribbean. A Russian oil tanker and a salvage tug were also expected in Havana. According to official information, none of the ships are said to have nuclear weapons on board.

Some onlookers wrapped in Russian flags waited for the arrival of the warships.(Bild: APA/AFP/YAMIL LAGE)

The arrival of the Admiral Gorshkov in Havana(Bild: APA/AFP/Yamil LAGE)

USA: No threat situation
Havana is only around 170 kilometers from Key West in the US state of Florida. According to the US government, Russian naval operations off Cuba have already been observed in the past. Developments are being followed very closely, but are not considered to be a threat. Russia is likely to repeat such actions in the future. According to the US newspaper "Miami Herald", the US Navy also deployed three destroyers, a coast guard ship and a maritime surveillance aircraft to observe the Russian ships.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodríguez in Moscow on Wednesday. "We agree on the excellent state of relations between Cuba and Russia and the strengthening of economic and trade relations achieved, with the implementation of projects in various sectors," Rodríguez wrote on the online platform X.