JAKARTA - A Russian frigate and nuclear-powered submarine arrived in Havana Port on Wednesday, a stopover that Cuba and the United States said posed no threat but was widely seen as a show of force by Moscow.
Cuban residents and fishermen enthusiastically greeted the ships as they passed the 400-year-old Morro Castle at the entrance to the port. In the harbor, Cuban cannons greeted them with salvos.
Accompanied by tugboats and fuel ships, the Admiral Gorshkov (454) frigate and the Kazan (K-561) nuclear-powered submarine arrived early in the morning local time.
The four Russian ships sailed to Cuba after conducting "high-precision missile weapons" training in the Atlantic Ocean, the Russian Defense Ministry said, as reported by Reuters on June 13.
The submarine and frigate were carrying Zircon hypersonic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and Onyx anti-ship missiles, the ministry said.
Cuba said last week that the visit was standard practice by naval vessels from countries friendly to Havana.
The country's foreign ministry said the flotilla did not carry nuclear weapons, something US officials have said.
Washington has been monitoring the Russian ships as they pass along the Florida coast, saying they pose no threat.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that such naval exercises were routine.
"We've seen this before and we expect to see this again, and I wouldn't interpret it as having any particular motive," Sullivan said.
Sullivan said there was no evidence Russia had moved missiles to Cuba, but the US would remain vigilant.
"We don't expect anything like that to happen," he said.
Havana is just 100 miles (160 km) from Key West, Florida, home to the US Naval Air Station.
American University Professor William Leogrande said the timing of the visit suggested more than just "standard practice."
"This visit by Russian warships is a way for (President Vladimir) Putin to remind (President Joe) Biden that Moscow can challenge Washington in its own sphere of influence," Leogrande said.
The stopover coincides with Cuba's worst social and economic crisis in decades, with shortages of everything from food, medicine and fuel and growing discontent on the streets.
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"It has echoes of the Cold War, but unlike the first Cold War, Cubans are drawn to Moscow not because of ideological proximity, but because of economic necessity," Leogrande said.
Separately, the history between the two countries is not lost on Cubans who are watching the arrival of Russian ships that are scheduled to be in Havana until June 17.
"I have never seen such a big ship this close," said María Isabel Quesada (50) from Old Havana.
"As a Cuban, I feel safe, I feel satisfied, confident of having a very beautiful relationship between our two countries," she said.
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