REPORT: Russia Plans Military Exercises In America’s Backyard, Biden Admin Unconcerned

Russia is planning to deploy combat vessels to the Caribbean Sea as part of naval and aerial exercises, according to a report from Reuters. Russian warships are expected to dock in Cuba and possibly Venezuela as part of the exercises.

The exercises will be the first conducted by Russia in the Caribbean since 2019, when the Russian military dispatched the Admiral Gorshkov warship to Havana, as well as a long range bomber to Venezuela.

“This is about Russia showing that it’s still capable of some level of global power projection,” one senior U.S. official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

Lawmakers and other relevant officials have been briefed on the matter, the official said Thursday.

“As part of Russia’s regular military exercises, we anticipate that this summer, Russia will conduct heightened naval and air activity near the United States. These actions will culminate in a global Russian naval exercise this fall,” they said.

The deployments come as tensions between the U.S. and Russia remain at the highest levels since the Cold War as a result of the war in Ukraine. Despite the tensions, officials believe the deployments are part of routine naval activity. “We are not concerned by Russia’s deployments, which pose no direct threat to the United States,” the anonymous official told Reuters.

“We are expecting that Russia will temporarily send combat naval vessels to the Caribbean region and these ships will likely conduct port calls in Cuba and possibly Venezuela. There may also be some aircraft deployments or flights in the region,” he said.

The Biden Administration is not concerned about the exercises in America’s backyard, pointing to the fact that Russia sailed warships into the Western Hemisphere every year from 2013 to 2020.

“We should expect more of this activity going forward, although we note these deployments incur a cost on the Russian Navy, which is struggling to maintain readiness and conduct deployments with an aged fleet,” the official said.