Russian warships conduct exercises in the Atlantic en route to Cuba. New hypersonic missiles are on board – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

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Russian warships conducted exercises in the Atlantic, the military said Tuesday, as they traveled to Cuba, part of Moscow's efforts to project power amid tensions with the West about Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the nuclear submarine Kazan conducted the exercise aimed at simulating a missile strike on a group of enemy ships.

The ministry said the exercises involved a computer simulation of an attack on maritime targets more than 600 kilometers (more than 320 nautical miles) away.

Admiral Gorshkov is armed with new Zircon hypersonic missiles. The weapon was designed to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines and could be used against both enemy ships and ground targets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has touted Zircon as a powerful weapon capable of penetrating all existing missile defenses by flying nine times faster than the speed of sound over a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers (over 620 miles).

The Admiral Gorshkov and Kazan are accompanied by two support ships during their visit to Havana, which Cuban officials say reflects the “historically friendly relations” between Russia and Cuba.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry said the Russian warships would be in Havana between Wednesday and June 17, emphasizing that none would carry nuclear weapons and assuring that their presence “does not represent a threat to the region.”

The Cuban statement followed a U.S. announcement that Washington was tracking Russian warships and planes due to arrive in the Caribbean for a military exercise.

It's not the first time Russia has sent its warships to the Caribbean, but this week's visit follows Putin's warning that Moscow could respond to Ukraine's Western allies allowing kyiv to use their weapons to strike targets in Russia by supplying similar weapons to Western adversaries around the world. .