The US Sent Destroyers In Response To Russian Warships Near Cuba

They were also joined by a frigate of the Royal Canadian Navy.

The U.S. has sent Navy ships to spy on Russian military vessels heading to the port of Havana, U.S. officials told CBS News.

According to them, the United States used three destroyers, two vessels towing sonar equipment, and one coast guard boat to track the movements of Russian warships.

As established by OSINT analysts TheIntelFrog, we are talking about the destroyers Truxtun and Donald Cook. They were also joined by the frigate Ville de Québec of the Royal Canadian Navy, writes The Moscow Times.

In addition, according to analysts, the movement of Russian vessels is monitored by a patrol anti-submarine aircraft Poseidon P-8 of the U.S. Navy and a patrol aircraft SR-140 Aurora of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Earlier, the Cuban authorities announced that from June 12 to 17, four ships of the Russian Navy will visit the port of Havana — the carrier of the Zircon hypersonic missiles, the Admiral Gorshkov frigate, the Kazan nuclear submarine, the Akademik Pashin oil tanker and the Nikolai Chiker rescue tug. All of them belong to the Northern Fleet of Russia.

According to CBS sources, Russia is transferring ships to the Caribbean to conduct military exercises, which will be held for the first time since 2019. The ships are to make a stop in Cuba and Venezuela, and after the exercises will remain in the region until the end of the summer to conduct another maneuver in the fall, CBS sources clarify.

John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, told CBS that the United States does not have data on the presence of nuclear weapons on Russian ships. It is also not expected to be used during the exercise. However, he noted that, according to the US intelligence, there is a nuclear system on the submarine.

Cuba is about 150 km off the coast of American Florida. But Washington does not see Moscow's actions as a direct threat. The Pentagon said that Cuba accepted Russian ships regularly between 2013 and 2020.

“Given Russia's long history of entering at Cuban ports, they are considered routine naval visits, especially in the context of increased US support for Ukraine and NATO exercises,” said US Department of Defense Spokesman Maj. Charlie Dietz.