A US nuclear attack submarine appears in Cuba behind the Russian fleet

A U.S. Navy fast attack submarine arrived in Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay on Thursday, hot on the heels of the Russian flotilla that arrived in Havana 24 hours earlier.

The USS Helenone of about two dozen nuclear-powered and conventionally armed Los Angeles-class boats, was making “a routine port visit … as part of its global maritime security and national defense mission,” the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a statement on social media.

On Wednesday, the Cuban armed forces welcomed the missile frigate of the Russian Northern Fleet Admiral Gorshkov with a 21-gun salute as the fleet flagship led the Yasen-M class cruise missile submarine Kazan in Havana Bay for a stopover from 12 to 17 June.

“None of the ships are carrying nuclear weapons,” Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said earlier this week.

The visit, about 160 kilometers south of the Florida Keys, “does not pose a threat to the region,” the Cuban government said.

The US Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarines were built during the Cold War and are armed with torpedoes and Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles for land and sea targets.

Since the core drive offers virtually unlimited range, Helen carries enough food and supplies to remain in place for an estimated three months, a period known as the ship’s “endurance.”

The Helen was anchored at the Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia less than three weeks ago.

It is unusual for the United States and other countries to disclose the exact locations of their submarines, but the appearance of a stealth boat sends an unmistakable military signal to potential adversaries.

Given the time of the submarine’s arrival, it is conceivable that it was sailing in the same waters used by the ships of the Russian Northern Fleet.

“The location and passage of the ship were planned in advance,” SOUTHCOM said in a statement.

A US defense official said Newsweek this week that American and Canadian naval and air forces had been “actively monitoring” the Russian ships as they crossed the Atlantic.

On Wednesday, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said of the Russian port call in Cuba: “We have been following the Russians’ plans in this regard. This is no surprise.”

“We will constantly monitor all foreign vessels operating near U.S. waters,” Singh said. “We obviously take this seriously, but these exercises do not pose a threat to the United States.”

SOUTHCOM did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday.

Russian ships visited Cuba every year from 2013 to 2020. This week’s visit comes after President Vladimir Putin said his forces would take “asymmetric steps” elsewhere in the world in response to President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike with U.S. weapons inside Russia.

Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy on June 13 and signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement.

“We think this is a big deal, a milestone in the U.S.-Ukraine partnership, and a real sign of our commitment not just for this month and this year, but for many years to come,” said U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Sullivan had declared a day earlier: “With our signature, we are also sending Russia a signal of our determination. If Vladimir Putin thinks he can outlast the coalition that supports Ukraine, he is mistaken. He simply cannot out-sit us.”