A group of Russian naval ships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, will visit Cuba next week as part of “historically friendly relations,” Cuba’s government said Thursday.
The Russian “frigate Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the fleet oil tanker Pashin, and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker” will visit the port of Havana between June 12 and 17, according to the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces in a statement published by the Foreign Ministry.
Cuba says none of the ships carry nuclear weapons and insists their stopover does not represent a threat to the region.
“Visits by naval units from other countries are a historical practice of the revolutionary government with nations that maintain relations of friendship and collaboration,” the statement added.
Moscow has not confirmed the information provided by Cuba. CNN has reached out to the Russian government for comment.
It’s not the first time Russian Navy ships have been sent to Cuba, a key ally to the former Soviet Union during the Cold War that briefly hosted nuclear missiles at Moscow’s behest during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Last July, the Russian Navy’s training class ship Perekop sailed into Havana for a four-day visit.
The latest visit appears to be the largest of its kind in years.
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