It was a clear day in June as the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov—with its 48 vertical launch cells, 130-mm gun, and Ka-27 helicopter—sailed past the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana and entered Havana Harbor to a 21-gun salute. A Cuban tug eased the Admiral Gorshkov into place at the cruise ship terminal as the other three vessels in the Russian flotilla from Severomorsk sailed past in trail and docked in sequence. The Russian flotilla had been tracked by the U.S. Navy, but now it was among allies. The crews could relax after their long voyage and enjoy the distractions Havana offers.
This was June 2019, and U.S. media and government barely reacted to the deployment. In fact, if PBS had not noted the port visit on a Sunday news program, there would be practically no public record of it.