Russia sends warships on military exercise in America's 'backyard' as the new Cold Wa

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Russia sends warships on military exercise in America's 'backyard' as the new Cold War intensifies


By Will Stewart In Moscow
Last updated at 1:24 AM on 23rd September 2008



Russian warships set off for the Caribbean yesterday for their first naval exercises on the U.S.'s doorstep since the Cold War.

The vessels from the Northern Fleet, including nuclear missile cruiser the Peter the Great, left their base in Severomorsk to hold joint manoeuvres with Venezuela.

The exercises are seen as retaliation to U.S. plans to install a strategic missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.


It is also thought to be a response to Western support for Georgia, which was invaded by Moscow last month.

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Making new friends: The flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet, the nuclear-powered Peter the Great has set sail for Venezuela

Last week, in a show of strength that echoed the Cold War, two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers flew over the Caribbean into Venezuela - a close ally of Russia.

The Bush administration has accused the Kremlin of playing a 'dangerous game' by carrying out flights with strategic bombers near U.S. borders.

Igor Dygalo, an aide to the chief naval commander, said last night: 'A flotilla of Russia's Northern Fleet ships, including its flagship, the nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great, destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and escorting ships have left Severomorsk, the Northern Fleet's base.

'As a part of this trip, Russian warships will take part in joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy.'

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Look out US: The Admiral Chabanenko, a Russian anti-submarine destroyer, Udaloy II class, has also set sail for Latin America

Deputy Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Nikolai Karachun added: 'The ships are loaded with both training and live rounds, all is in good order and checked, the ships are technically sound, all crews are fully prepared, and spare parts are on board the warships and their escorts.'

Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans last August, following an order signed by then-President Vladimir Putin.

Russian bombers have since carried out more than 90 strategic patrol flights and have often been escorted by Nato planes, including RAF interceptors.

Russian might: Peter the Great

The flights were designed to show the once-feared Russian Military had regained its confidence and aggression since decaying in the post-Soviet era.

Military leaders in the country have also threatened to base bombers in Cuba, deliberately evoking comparisons with the 1962 Cuba missile crisis in which the USA and the Soviet Union came close to all-out war after the Red Army shipped missiles to the Caribbean island.

President Hugo Chavez has embarked on a five-nation foreign tour which includes a red carpet visit to Moscow where he will be lauded for standing up the United States.

Kremlin prime minister Vladimir Putin's push to the Caribbean will act as a warning to the next U.S. president, to be elected in November, that despite the world current financial turbulence, Moscow is again a force to be reckoned with following a massive oil-fuelled economic recovery since the fall of the USSR.

Military analyst Alexander Golts said: 'It's a show of the Kremlin irritation about the U.S. deployment to Georgia. It's a signal to the United States: you have broken into our zone of influence, and we will show you that we can enter yours.'

He added that the small Russian squadron could not pose any threat to the United States.

'Without protection from the air, it makes a sitting duck,' he said.

'It's ridiculous to even talk about the Russian ships providing a counterweight to the U.S. Navy.'

The Peter the Great is armed with SS-N-19 Shipwreck long-range anti-ship missiles. The warship will sail in an area where nine of every 14 barrels of imported oil to the US must transit.


Russia sends warships on military exercise in America's 'backyard' as the new Cold War intensifies | Mail Online