{"id":31661,"date":"2019-06-24T22:33:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T22:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/24\/whats-an-advanced-russian-warship-doing-in-havana-harbor\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:42:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:42:36","slug":"whats-an-advanced-russian-warship-doing-in-havana-harbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/06\/24\/whats-an-advanced-russian-warship-doing-in-havana-harbor\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s an advanced Russian warship doing in Havana harbor?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HAVANA\u2014 One of the Russian navy\u2019s most advanced warships entered Havana\u2019s harbor Monday and docked at the port used until this month by U.S. cruise lines. Here are some questions and answers about the Admiral Gorshkov<\/a>\u2019s travels through the Caribbean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT IS THE ADMIRAL GORSHKOV?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Admiral Gorshkov entered service last year. It is one of the Russian navy\u2019s most advanced warships and is armed with cruise missiles, air defense systems and other weapons. The frigate is based at the Arctic port of Severomorsk <\/a>and is part of Russia\u2019s Northern Fleet. It\u2019s the first ship in a new class of frigates intended to replace aging Soviet-era destroyers to project power far away from Russian shores. It is accompanied by the multifunctional logistics vessel Elbrus, the medium sea tanker Kama and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker, the Russian navy says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT IS THE SHIP DOING IN THE CARIBBEAN?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The navy says the Admiral Gorshkov crossed through the Panama Canal into the Caribbean Sea on or around June 18. The naval group has covered a distance of over 28,000 nautical miles since leaving Severomorsk in February, with stops in China, Djibouti, Sri Lanka and Colombia, the navy says. It says the ships are scheduled to make calls at several Caribbean ports, without specifying which. The naval group was greeted with a 21-gun salute from Cuban forces stationed at the entrance to the Bay of Havana. The Gorshkov responded with its own salute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia has not provided details about the purpose of its trip, but the Kremlin has moved to bolster Russia’s military capability amid tensions with the West following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The Russian armed forces have received hundreds of new warplanes and dozens of warships in recent years as part of a sweeping military modernization program that allowed Moscow to project power abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the U.S.-Russian relations have sunk to the lowest levels since the Cold War, Moscow has been considering further steps to boost its global presence. An air base and a naval facility in Syria are currently Russia’s only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union but Russian military officials have talked repeatedly about plans to negotiate deals for Russian warships and aircraft to use foreign ports and air bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The guided-missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov arrives at the port of Havana on Monday. (Ramon Espinosa\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WHAT MESSAGE IS RUSSIA SENDING WITH THE ADMIRAL GORSHKOV?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian ships have become an occasional presence in Havana over the last decade. In 2008, after a visit by then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a group of Russian ships entered Cuban waters in what Cuban media described as the first such visit since 1991. Another group visited the southern city Cienfuegos in 2010, reportedly with a cargo of wheat. Others visited in 2013 and in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2015, the reconnaissance and communications ship Viktor Leonov arrived unannounced in Havana a day before the start of discussions between U.S. and Cuban officials on the reopening of diplomatic relations. The Viktor Leonov<\/a> returned again in March 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the Russian naval missions to Cuba have been seen as a projection of military power close to U.S. shores, although neither Cuba nor Russian have described them as anything other than routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early during his presidency, Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered the military to shut a Soviet-era electronic surveillance outpost in Cuba and a naval base in Vietnam as he sought to warm ties with the United States. Amid tensions with the U.S., Russian military officials talked about the possibility of reinstating a presence on Cuba and in Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian warships and aircraft have periodically made forays into the Caribbean. In a show of power, a pair of Russian nuclear-capable Tu-160 strategic bombers visited Venezuela in December in what the Russian military described as a training mission. The deployment came before the latest crisis in Venezuela. Russia also sent Tu-160s and a missile cruiser to visit Venezuela in 2008 amid tensions with the U.S. after Russia’s brief war with Georgia. A pair of Tu-160s also visited Venezuela in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not publicly known if the Admiral Gorshkov will visit Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\t