Cuba confirms Russia's dispatch of group of warships for exercises near USA
The Russian Federation will send a group of military ships to Cuba. They will arrive in Havana next week, according to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"This visit corresponds to the historical friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation and strictly adheres to the international regulations," the department stated.
Meanwhile, Cuba has announced that none of the ships allegedly carry nuclear weapons, so their presence in their country does not pose a threat to the region.
US reaction
The statement from Cuba came a day after the official representative of the USA informed journalists that Russia plans to send warships to the Caribbean region, including Cuba and Venezuela, for military exercises.
The United States does not consider the expected arrival of a small number of aircraft and ships as a threat, but the US Navy will monitor the exercises.
Screenshot: Havana and Miami (google.com/maps)
It's important to note that the distance from Havana to Miami is approximately 450 kilometers.
Relations between Cuba and Russia
Cuba has been under American sanctions for decades, and during the time of the USSR, which Russia is the legal successor of, military ships were sent to Cuba to deploy nuclear weapons to the island.
At the same time, Russia now uses Cuba and its citizens in the war against Ukraine. Last fall, the media outlet Important Stories found that the recruitment of Cuban citizens for the war against Ukraine was carried out by an employee of the Russian Academy of Sciences.