A training ship, patrol frigate and refueling tanker are moored in the Havana port usually occupied by cruise ships, the Russian Embassy in Havana said in a statement on Facebook.
It's the latest in a series of vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine, that have visited Havana in recent months, as ties between the two countries have grown increasingly stronger.
The ties are becoming ever more important to Cuba as the country has become increasingly dependent on Russian oil and has welcomed Russian warships into its port.
The island nation near Florida has long been strategically important for Russia. The former Soviet Union created military installations around the country in 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis.
Cuba has said none of the ships carry nuclear weapons and their presence 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," a statement from the Cuban government said.
Russian navy ship arrives in Cuba for three-day visit
Havana (AFP) July 27, 2024 -
A Russian navy ship arrived in Cuba on Saturday for a three-day stay, six weeks after Moscow sent a submarine and other naval vessels to visit the communist state off Florida's coast.
The Smolny training ship was greeted with salvos from Cuban artillery before it anchored in Havana's harbor, where residents and tourists gathered to take a look.
Russia's embassy in Cuba said the ship, accompanied by two others, is "part of the Baltic Fleet group that is making a friendly visit to the Cuban capital."
"One more example of the close relations between our people," the embassy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In mid-June, the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan -- which Cuba said was not carrying nuclear weapons -- docked in Havana for five days.
The unusual deployment so close to US territory came amid major tensions over the war in Ukraine, where the Western-backed government is fighting a Russian invasion.
The United States sent a fast-attack submarine to its Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba a day after the Russian submarine arrived.
During the Cold War, Cuba was an important client state for the Soviet Union. The deployment of Soviet nuclear missile sites on the island triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when Washington and Moscow came close to war.
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