For Spanish, see this translation from El Tiempo Latino.
Russian warships conducted simulated military exercises bound for Cuba in June. But social media posts percentage clips of a 2018 Russian video showing missile tests in the White Sea to claim that the warships fired real missiles “off the coast of Florida” before reaching Havana. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense called the claim “false. “
A Russian convoy of four ships, plus an army frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine, the Kazan, arrived in Cuba on June 12 for a five-day visit, CNN reported. Russian state media said that heading toward Cuba, warships conducted military exercises “using computer simulation for naval targets, designating ship teams of a simulated enemy,” CNN also reported.
But social media posts shared clips of a video from years ago that falsely claimed Russian ships fired missiles “off the coast of Florida” while en route to Cuba.
A June 12 Instagram post from an account called packagingpatriot. 2 carries a caption that reads, “Russia is showing off its naval firepower off the coast of Florida thanks to Joe Biden and his helpful idiots. “
The narrator of the message claims that the Biden administration is “pushing us to the breaking point of World War III with its fight for Ukraine. “It then shows a video of four missiles allegedly launched from a rocket through bubbling smoke into the sky. These images are followed by a submarine on the surface of the water, then submerged, while members of the Russian-speaking team work inside the shipment. The text superimposed on the video reads: “The Russians show their firepower off the coast of Florida. “
They had gained more than 6,800 likes as of June 14.
A similar Instagram post, also shared on June 12, reads: “Breaking[:] Russia conducts maritime exercises with nuclear submarines just 66 miles off the coast of Florida. . . ” This post also shows a video of the missiles taking off and the Russian shooting. The team enters the submarine.
But a Google search for photographs of Instagram posts shows that a longer edit of the video was shared six years ago on YouTube with the headline “Russian nuclear submarine effectively tests four Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles. “
A symbol of this video also made the impression in an article by the Indian news site The Week on May 24, 2018. This article reported: “As a warning to Western nations, and in particular the United States, Russia has tested 4 Bulava intercontinental ballistic bullets.
An Associated Press article in the Navy Times on October 14, 2019 also shows the symbol used on the Indian news site, with the caption reading: “In this photograph taken from symbols taken on the official Internet site of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Thursday May 24, 2018, the Russian nuclear submarine Yuri Dolgoruky tests Bulava missiles from the White Sea.
For example, the video posted on Instagram does not show Russian missiles fired “off the coast of Florida” in June 2024. The video, provided through the Russian Defense Ministry, shows missiles fired from some other submarine in the White Sea. in eastern Russia, in 2018.
We asked the US Department of Defense to respond to the social media claim that a Russian had fired missiles off the coast of Florida while en route to Cuba, and a spokesperson emailed a one-line response : “That’s true”.
The Russian frigate Almirante Gorshkov did indeed fire a 21-gun broadside upon its arrival at the port of Havana, CNN reported.
U. S. officials told the New York Times that the Russian warships posed no risk and did not carry nuclear weapons. The Defense Department is tracking the ships’ movements in the Atlantic Ocean, a spokesperson told the Times. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the warships were education to locate targets and precision missiles to simulate the destruction of targets at distances of more than 350 miles, according to the Times.
CNN reported that U. S. officials said Russian ships visited Cuba every year between 2013 and 2020.
The Russian-Cuban alliance goes further. In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane captured photographs of nuclear missile sites that the then-Soviet Union was building in Cuba. Then-President John F. Kennedy imposed a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent the arrival of more Soviet materials and demanded that the missiles be removed. The Americans and Soviets reached an agreement in which the missiles were dismantled and the United States pledged not to invade the island, ending the 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis.
Editor’s note: FactCheck. org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our past can be discovered here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Associated Press. “Russia plans to have nuclear forces. » October 14, 2019.
CNN. “The Russian frigate receives 21 guns when she enters the port of Havana. ” June 12, 2024.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. ” Cuban Missile Crisis. “Retrieved June 13, 2024.
Oppmann, Patrick et al. “Russian ships arrive in Cuba as links to Cold War allies. CNN. June 12, 2024.
Samson, Eve. ” Russian warships enter the port of Havana from the planned exercises. ” New York Times. June 12, 2024.
Week. “Russian nuclear submarine fires 4 Bulava missiles”. May 24, 2018.
US Department of Defense Spokesperson. Email FactCheck. org. June 13, 2024.
Youtube. « The Russian nuclear submarine effectively tests Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles. “2018.
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