Havana residents watched from shore on Saturday as a Russian warship arrived in Cuba for the first time in months, in what Cuba called a routine visit.
Cuban authorities fired shots into the air as a signal of welcome, and curious fishermen watched the ships sail through the bay from Havana’s waterfront promenade. Russian residents were among the few who woke up early to watch the flotilla arrive.
The Baltic Fleet’s patrol ship Neustrakhmy, training ship Smolny and support ships are scheduled to set sail on Tuesday.
On July 27, 2024, a Russian ship entered Havana Bay in Havana, Cuba. (Noris Perez)
Bloodied pro-Cuba protester denounces Biden: ‘Cubans don’t want vaccines, they want freedom’
A brief statement from the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces said their arrival was routine.
The State Department and the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Russian nuclear submarines, frigates and support ships also demonstrated Moscow’s might in June at Havana Harbor, less than 100 miles from Florida.
A Cuban tugboat guides a Russian Baltic Fleet ship into Havana Bay on July 27, 2024. (Noris Perez)
Lawmakers slam Fed after Cuba restrictions adjusted: A lifeline to our biggest enemy in the Western Hemisphere
Tensions between the United States and Russia have risen since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and Russian naval activity, which is routine in the Atlantic, has increased in response to U.S. support for Ukraine, U.S. officials said.
At the same time, Cuba’s relations with Cold War ally Russia have improved significantly as the communist regime struggles with an economic crisis it blames primarily on U.S. sanctions.
Meet Tito Puente, the American who popularized Latin music, World War II Navy veteran and kamikaze survivor
People watch as a Russian Baltic Fleet ship arrives in Cuba on July 27, 2024. (Noris Perez)
High-level exchanges between the two countries have increased to levels not seen since the collapse of their one-time benefactor, the Soviet Union, with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel visiting Moscow four times.
Russia has been pumping oil, flour and an increasing number of tourists into the cash- and resource-starved Caribbean nation, but its people have suffered daily power outages and other hardships that have led to sporadic protests and record migration.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Ana Garces, a 78-year-old retiree, told Reuters she remembers that the Soviet Union was the only country to help Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis, when tensions with the United States reached a fever pitch as the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war.
“We’re so grateful,” she said. “Why wouldn’t we welcome it with open arms? It’s a friendship. All kinds of ships have come in here.”
“It shows how other countries are supporting us and it softens the way the world thinks about our country,” added her husband, Rolando Pérez, 71, a retiree.
