Several Russian warships, including a nuclear submarine, left Havana, Cuba’s port on Monday June 17 after spending five days there following military drills in the Atlantic Ocean. The exercise was viewed by many as a show of strength by Moscow as U.S. and other countries support Kyiv in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The ships included a submarine, a frigate, an oil tanker and a rescue tug. The group departed from the port on the morning of June 17.
The fleet’s next destination was unknown, although U.S. officials said the vessels might stop in Venezuela. The U.S. docked the USS Helena at its Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba in response.
The Russian ships had conducted military drills in the Atlantic Ocean, simulating a missile attack on targets that could be more than 600 kilometers (375 miles) away, reports said.
The Russian ships were welcomed in Havana with a 21-gun salute.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel posted on X that he visited the frigate on Saturday and interacted with the sailors.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said the presence of the American submarine at Guantanamo Base was “unwelcome and uninvited.”