A fleet of Russian warships has been stopping off the coast of Havana since Wednesday, after carrying out a series of military maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean.
Hundreds of Cubans and tourists lined up Thursday afternoon in Havana to board the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov.
The Cuban and Russian authorities have agreed to allow citizens access to the warship, which arrived the day before with the Kazan nuclear submarine and two logistics shipsthe oil tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker.
The queue continued to grow throughout the day, even though access to the submarine located a few meters away was not permitted.
Visits to ships of different nationalities, open to the public, are common in Havana. Last week, the Cuban government announced that a Royal Canadian Navy ship would arrive next Friday.
As for the Russian fleet, Cuban authorities confirmed that she would be docked in Havana until June 17.
The Russian Defense Ministry indicated that exercises conducted by its fleet aimed to simulate missile attacks against targets located more than 600 kilometers away.
The Caribbean island, known for its communist regime and long history of friendly relations with the former Soviet Union and Russia, is located just 150 kilometers from the continental United States.
US officials downplayed the danger of the visit but said they would closely monitor all movements of Russian military ships.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stressed that this was not the first time that Russian ships had approached the area and indicated that they did not expect a transfer of Russian missiles or technology to Cuba.
Both Cuba and Russia are subject to U.S. sanctions, a measure that hits the small island hard.
