On July 24, the Cuban Ministry of Defense announced that between July 27 and 30, several Russian ships of the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet would soon arrive on Cuba’s coasts. According to the Cuban Government, the arrival of the ships corresponds to a working visit that will take place in the port of Havana. The ships are the patrol vessel “Neustrahimiy,” the offshore oil tanker “Yelna” and the training ship “Smólniy”. Regarding the latter, the government informed that the residents can visit the training ship on Sunday, July 28, and Monday, July 29.
The Cuban government has described the military visit as a historical and friendly practice that Cuba has maintained with countries that maintain friendly and collaborative relations. In addition, the Ministry of Defense stated that “during their stay in our country, the Russian sailors will carry out a program of activities that includes courtesy visits to the Chief of the Revolutionary Navy, to the Governor of the capital, as well as touring places of historical and cultural interest.”
Already on June 12, several Russian warships and a submarine visited the Caribbean country. Before their arrival, the warships took the opportunity to carry out military exercises in international waters. Some experts have seen in this type of visit a certain strengthening of the historically stable relations between Moscow and Havana amid a complex international geopolitical reality. A few weeks ago, the United States and its allies announced the delivery of several weapons to the Ukrainian government, among them the famous Patriot missiles. For this reason, the new military visit to Cuba, a country bordering the United States, is seen by some analysts as a symbolic military statement, although very clear.
In this regard, Lajos Szászdi, an expert in international relations, says that “this is a response to the fact that Washington has authorized Ukraine to use US weapons against Russian military targets. At the same time, the United States wants to be prepared for an eventual attack against the Baltic countries, that is why NATO is also conducting exercises in this area close to Russia.”
Furthermore, it is true that Cuba, in an attempt to weaken the US blockade, invited several warships during the month of June, such as the Royal Canadian Navy patrol vessel, the “HMCS Brooke”, and the Venezuelan training ship “AB Simón Bolívar”, which visited the country between the 14th and 19th of that month. In this way, the Cuban government has tried to strengthen diplomatic and military ties with the countries with which it maintains a cordial relationship.