Hey there! So, guess what? A Russian frigate is hanging out near the US as part of a group of four ships. It’s not just any frigate—it’s the Gorshkov, and they’ve got some fancy new submarines called Kazan cruising along too. They’re making a pit stop in Cuba, just a stone’s throw away from Florida, about 90 miles off the coast. Tensions are rising between the US and Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
According to Moscow, this navy posse is just doing its usual military drills in Havana with their buddies. The Cuban Foreign Ministry confirmed that the Russian ships are already in Cuban waters and will dock at Havana port by the end of the week.
If you’re curious, there’s this cool site called MarineTraffic that tracks ships globally. You can peek at the Russian Fleet’s journey through the Caribbean. The site shows that the Russian rescue tug, Nikolay Chiker, was super close to Key Largo, only 26 nautical miles away on Wednesday evening.
The Russian Defense Ministry shared that the Gorshkov along with the Kazan conducted missile drills in the Atlantic, practicing strikes on enemy ships from a whopping 370 miles away. It’s all part of Putin’s way of responding to NATO’s increased support for Ukraine, which includes allowing weapons to be used against Russia.
The Biden Administration assured us that they don’t see this as a direct threat, but they’ll be keeping an eye on the drills. Open-source data revealed that U.S. assets were shadowing the Russian warships along Florida’s east coast as they cruised towards Cuba.
It seems like the Russian flotilla was being given the eye from up above as well—US Navy’s P-8A Poseidon and a Canadian CP-140 Aurora were doing some aerial surveillance. The CG Stone, USS Truxtun, USS Donald Cook, and the Canadian Navy’s HMCS Ville de Quebec were all part of this nautical pursuit.
While the Russian activities are making some people nervous, U.S. officials are saying there’s no immediate threat. They’ve confirmed that there’s no sign of nuclear weapons onboard the Russian ships or any plans to use them in these drills.
From 2013 to 2020, it’s been a bit of a tradition for Russian ships to swing by their old Cold War buddy, Cuba, every year. This move is usually seen as a flex of Moscow’s military muscle. The Pentagon mentioned that these visits do put a strain on the Russian Navy’s resources, given their aging fleet.
By the way, there’s a chance those Russian ships might hang around in this neck of the woods for the summer and pop over for a visit to Venezuela.