The U.S. monitors movements of Russian warships near Cuba.

The United States government is aware of the Russian combat vessels that are expected to arrive in Cuba and the Caribbean for a military exercise.

Russia will temporarily send warships to the Caribbean region, and these ships will likely make stops at the ports of Cuba and possibly Venezuela. There may also be some aircraft deployments or flights in the region, a spokesperson for the Department of State confirmed to Martí Noticias.

The same source said that this summer Russia will carry out intense naval and air activity in the Caribbean, near the United States, and that the actions will culminate with a global Russian naval exercise in the fall.

However, the Biden administration does not view the deployment with alarm, as Russia has sent ships to the Western Hemisphere annually from 2013 to 2020.

They specify that "the Russian deployments are part of routine naval activity," and that they do not worry the US government "since they do not represent a direct threat to the United States."

An article published this Thursday by the news agency AP already anticipated that the United States has been tracking Russian ships and aircraft.

Russia did not notify the United States about the upcoming maneuvers, as revealed by two officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

Officials said the exercise is "without a doubt" part of a broader Russian response to U.S. support for Ukraine, but it is also an attempt by Putin to demonstrate that his navy is still capable of projecting global power after losing several vessels in Ukrainian attacks.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) of Cuba, for its part, announced the upcoming arrival in Havana, on an "official visit," of several ships from the Russian Navy, including a nuclear-powered submarine.

Between June 12 and 17, 2024, an official visit to the port of Havana will take place by a naval detachment from the Russian Federation, composed of four ships: the frigate ‘Gorshkov’, the nuclear-powered submarine ‘Kazan’, the fleet's oiler ‘Pashin’, and the salvage tugboat ‘Nikolai Chiker’, the MINREX announced on Thursday in a statement.

The official statement added that the visit is in line "with the historic friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation," and that "it strictly complies with the international regulations of which Cuba is a State party."

MINREX clarified that none of the ships are carrying nuclear weapons and that their stop in the country does not pose a threat to the region.

The Cuban-American senator Marco Rubio asked President Joe Biden not to stand idly by, and pointed out that there has not been a Russian submarine with nuclear-capable missiles operating in the Caribbean for over 30 years.