▲ The training ship Smolny of the Russian fleet enters the port of Havana.Photo Xinhua
AP, Xinhua and Reuters
The newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, July 28, 2024, p. 23
Havana, Cuba.- Three ships from the Russian fleet docked in the Cuban capital yesterday, a month and a half after warships from the Eurasian country did so, whose purpose was to carry out practice maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean.
The first of the three expected ships, the training ship Smolnywas received early in the morning in Havana Bay with cannon salutes as a friendly greeting, the AP agency confirmed.
Then the other two vessels arrived: the deep-sea tanker Yelnya and the patrol car Neustrashimywho will stay until next Tuesday.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces described the visit as a historical practice with nations with which it maintains relations of friendship and collaboration.
The island authorities indicated that the population could go up to visit the Smolny today and tomorrow.
In mid-June, three warships, including a powerful nuclear-powered submarine, docked in Havana Bay, attracting the attention of the United States government, which closely followed the operations and maneuvers, although, after evaluating the circumstances, it asserted that they did not represent a danger.
The fleet’s arrival was seen by some as a show of force by Moscow at a time when Washington and other Western nations are backing kyiv in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
For the island, the US blockade, which seeks to pressure a change in its political and economic model, has a major financial impact, and since the end of the coronavirus pandemic, Moscow has been selling oil to the island, as well as strengthening its commercial presence.
Cubans took the opportunity to take a stroll along the port avenue. I’m taking a family walkMaydelis Pérez, 29, who arrived at the port with her three children, told the AP agency. It’s a friendly thing. A link between Russia and the Cubans..
A few meters away, Gabriel Turro, a 64-year-old state worker, watched the training ship pass by attentively. Smolny, before which the white-clad Russian sailors and officers stood at attention. For me it has no problem (the visit)he pointed.
