Havana’s historic harbor recently became the stage for a significant geopolitical maneuver as a fleet of Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived in Cuba, signaling a deepening alliance between the two nations and a clear message to the United States.
This high-profile visit, which commenced on June 12, 2024, and included the modern frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, marks the largest Russian show of force with its long-standing ally Cuba in many years, occurring just 90 miles from Florida’s coast.
The Admiral Gorshkov, one of Russia’s most advanced ships, initiated the visit with a 21-gun salute upon entering Havana harbor, a gesture reciprocated by Cuban cannon fire from an 18th-century colonial fort. Accompanying the frigate and the Kazan were a rescue tug and an oil tanker. The Kazan, while nuclear-powered, was assessed by U.S. officials not to be carrying nuclear weapons.
The Admiral Gorshkov, one of Russia’s most advanced warships, docked in Havana.
This deployment is widely interpreted as a strategic response by Moscow to rising tensions with Washington, particularly after the U.S. authorized Ukraine to use American-provided weapons for strikes inside Russia.
Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America program at the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank, articulated this sentiment, stating, “The warships are a reminder to Washington that it is unpleasant when an adversary meddles in your near abroad.” He added that it also reminds “Russia’s friends in the region, including US antagonists Cuba and Venezuela, that Moscow is on their side”.
Cuban officials, however, downplayed the significance of the visit, characterizing it as “standard practice” and a reflection of “friendship and collaboration” with nations friendly to Havana. Cuba’s Foreign Ministry emphasized that the stopover posed no threat to the region and that none of the Russian ships were armed with nuclear weapons.
The U.S. military closely monitored the Russian flotilla, deploying ships like the USS Truxtun, USS Donald Cook, and the Coast Guard vessel USCGC Stone, along with air assets such as a P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance plane. Despite the close surveillance, U.S. officials, including White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, maintained that such naval exercises were routine and posed no direct threat to the United States. Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh reiterated this, stating, “what Russia is doing in these exercises, they don’t pose a threat to the United States”.
The visit also coincided with a meeting in Moscow between Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, where Rodriguez expressed Cuba’s “rejection of the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] towards the Russian border”. This highlights the strengthening political and economic ties between Cuba and Russia, driven by Moscow’s desire for diplomatic support amid the Ukraine conflict and Havana’s need for economic assistance due to severe U.S. sanctions.
The Russian vessels were open to public tours, with Cubans lining the seafront to witness their arrival. “It’s a friendly thing. A bond between Russia and the Cubans,” remarked 29-year-old Maydelis Perez, who brought her children to see the warships.
The initial fleet departed Havana on June 17 after a five-day visit. However, a second group of Russian naval ships, including the training ship Smolny, arrived in Havana on July 27 for another three-day stay, further underscoring the deepening military cooperation.
