In a pair of brazen moves that resembled 1960s Cold War tactics, a Russian warship cruised into a Cuban port Wednesday as President Vladimir Putin massed troops near his country’s border with Ukraine.
The Viktor Leonov, an armed Vishnya-class intelligence-gathering ship, was mysteriously docked at the Port of Havana’s cruise-ship area.
The warcraft, which has a crew of around 200, is reportedly armed with 30mm guns and anti-aircraft missiles.
Neither Cuban authorities nor state media were speaking about the ship’s sudden visit.
The former Soviet Union was Cuba’s sponsor state through three decades of Cold War, and the warship’s visit comes as Havana’s political patron, Venezuela, is facing protests against its socialist government.
Meanwhile, Putin ordered an urgent drill to test the combat readiness of the armed forces across western Russia, bordering Ukraine.
Putin has made no public comment on Ukraine since President Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power over the weekend after months of political turmoil sparked by his decision to spurn deals with the European Union and improve ties with Russia.
The United States and European nations have warned Russia against military intervention in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that Putin has called a “brother nation.”