Russian Nuclear Submarine “The Kazan”, along with 3 more naval vessels, comprising a missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov, is going to dock in the Cuban capital from 12th June 2024 to 17th June 2024. This comes after remarks made on June 5 by a top US official suggesting that Russia intends to send battleships to the Caribbean this summer, possibly calling at ports in Cuba and Venezuela.
Despite the current tensions & fragile geopolitical landscape, Russia has not formally notified USA of these maneuvers, but the US Navy has been carefully tracking Russian ship movements. Russia and any other nation are free to conduct military exercises in the international waters where sovereignty is shared by no one state.
However, this is being seen as one more significant & symbolic move by Russia in propagating its intentions of power projection all over world. The world has just been reminded of the historic 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis by the submarine’s actions, even though it will not be carrying nuclear weapons. Post 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when Soviet Russia had deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba, US & Russia were on the verge of war, though closely averted. As a result, US had imposed trade embargo on Cuba, still in force.
“None of the vessels is carrying nuclear weapons, so their stopover in our country does not represent a threat to the region,”- Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Cuba
To this, Renowned Anti-nuclear activist & Director- Nuclear Information Project at Federation of American Scientists Hans Kristensen posted an interesting tweet, raising doubt over Cubans capability to confirm their statement.
Though Cuba has downplayed the move as a routine military exercise, it does not rule out the fact that Cuba & USA are barely 145 KM apart and Russian naval assets, so close to US Coastline, significantly heighten the strategic vulnerability of United States of America.
This move underlines the deepening ties between Russia and Cuba, potentially reminding Cold War-era tensions and placing key U.S. Regions within strike range of Russian missile systems. Such developments could push the U.S. to reconfigure its defense postures and diplomatic lines in the Western Hemisphere, as the proximity of Russian military assets is a matter national security. This Russian move is mostly, undoubtedly, provocative.
While a watchful US has played down the threat possibilities, it is important to note that these kinds of show of force by Russian President Putin stem from his flaunting of atomic bombs, intending to use them in Ukraine or at regions of US interest, in protest against Western military support to Ukraine.
The US and other NATO members must come up with a comprehensive plan to deal with the worsening scenario in reaction to the Russian nuclear submarine docking in Cuba or similar misadventures including reckless military deployments in the guise of exercise, while the US continues to support Ukraine.
To limit Russia’s military aggressions, further diplomatic measures must be made to isolate it globally and to push more economic sanctions against it. NATO should also supplement its military readiness in Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, it should keep up its strong support for Ukraine in the form of military aid, intelligence sharing, and training so that the country can effectively defend Russian invasion despite the increased tensions brought on by symbolic misadventures like the submarine’s presence in the Western Hemisphere.