What Russian ships doing?
Four Russian “ships” went to Cuba:
- Admiral Gorshkov – frigate
- Kazan – nuclear-powered submarine
Both of the above are said to carry Zircon hypersonic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and Onyx (Oniks?) anti-ship missiles.
The submarine is said to be falling apart. See pics on Twitter.
Russia has not always had good luck with submarines. The nuclear-armed K-278 Komsomolets launched in 1983 and sank in 1989. They also lost the nuclear-powered submarine Kursk in 2000 during exercises.
Russian is said to be secretly testing the Arkhangelsk K-564 (red link), not to be confused with the decommissioned Arkhangelsk (K-525). This would appear to be a Yasen-M vessel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasen-class_submarine A pity it’s the Express, (sigh, and the Mirror) you would think a test that caused a NATO alert would have been published in a RS. The ship was launched last year, is this a RS for the launching? https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2023/11/here-comes-arkhangelsk-submarine-will-boost-northern-fleets-hypersonic-missiles There is a photo of the captain Aleksandr Gladkov (Александр Гладков) smashing a bottle of campaign on the hull of the Arkhangelsk «Архангельск», and touching his forehead to an icon presented to the ship by the Orthodox church. Hmm, what icon? Oh well, the Russian Wikipedia has it: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/К-564_«Архангельск»
The other two Russian boats arriving in Havana are supposed to be a tugboat and fuel ship.
- the fleet tanker Pashin, probably Akademik Pashin (Yes, Project 23130 fleet oil tanker “Akademik Pashin” shown on Twitter docked in Havana in satellite image)
- the tug Nikolai Chiker https://www.vesseltracker.com/en/Ships/Nikolay-Chiker-8613334.html “The vessel NIKOLAY CHIKER (IMO 8613334, MMSI 273543910) is a Icebreaker built in 1989 (35 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Russia.” https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/8613334 Also, “Project R-5757 Rescue Tug Nikolay Chiker“; Listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_Russian_Navy_ships#Auxiliaries
LOL, “Nikolay Chiker – Tug or Spec Ops? ”
I am going to say there is some VIP on board here. These tugs are typically how captains are delivered to their ships, or at least to ferries in the Kerch Bridge area. I am going to say there is someone more prestigious, maybe a diplomat, being delivered here. Maybe discussing military support for local unrest? Dunno, Cuba is a black hole. The Cuban ex-pat community in Miami thinks Cuba is having the worst economic crisis in history https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andres-oppenheimer/article289277910.html
There is a photo here of a tugboat guiding the Kazan in Havana’s waters on Wednesday, June 12, but it is the Tormenta 2, which seems to be a Cuban vessel.
- https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9803481
- https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:5851543/mmsi:323132110/imo:9803481/vessel:TORMENTA_2
A bit late to the party, a U.S. submarine showed up at Guantanamo Bay on Thursday. They also had a submarine hunter P-8 flying above the Russian ships
- USS Helena nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine
Not to be outdone, a Canadian navy patrol ship sailed into Havana on Friday, “a port visit … in recognition of the long-standing bilateral relationship between Canada and Cuba.” How sweet.
- Margaret Brooke patrol vessel
Even more ships, and the Canadian air force was out too:
“CG Stone coast guard vessel, the destroyers USS Truxtun and USS Donald Cook, and the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec, traveling southward along the Florida coast appearing to follow the Russian flotilla. In the air, at least one U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon and a Canadian CP-140 Aurora appeared to be conducting surveillance.”
And the French!
“…French Navy high seas patrol vessel Teriieroo A Teriierooiterai (P780); and the Frigate La Fayette (FS Guepratte F714).”
The Russian ships were scheduled to depart Havana on Monday, so we hope everyone had a nice little vacation weekend.
Gender Desk 
