Russian Warships Dock in Havana Amid Ukraine Tensions

A Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine churned into Havana harbor, a stopover the U.S. and Cuba said posed no threat but which was widely seen as a Russian show of force as tensions rise over the Ukraine war.

Curious onlookers, fishermen and police lined the Malecon seafront boulevard under sullen skies to welcome the ships as they passed the 400-year old Morro castle at the harbor's entrance.

Cuba - a long-time ally of Russia - saluted the ship's arrival with cannon fire in the harbor, while Russian diplomats waved small flags from their home country and took "selfies" as the vessels passed the harbor`s historic fortresses.

The imposing, steely gray "Admiral Gorshkov" frigate, and later, the nuclear-powered submarine "Kazan," half submerged with its crew on deck, were accompanied by a tugboat and fuel ship that had arrived earlier in the morning.

The four Russian vessels approached Cuba after conducting training on the use of "high-precision missile weapons" in the Atlantic Ocean en route to the island, Russia's defense ministry said.

The submarine and frigate carry "Zircon" hypersonic missiles, "Kalibr" cruise missiles and "Onyx" anti-ship missiles, the ministry said.

Cuba said last week that the visit was standard practice by naval vessels from countries friendly to Havana. The communist-run government's foreign ministry said the fleet carried no nuclear weapons, something echoed by U.S. officials.

Havana is just 160 km from Key West, Florida, home to a U.S. Naval Air Station.

The stopover also coincides with Cuba's worst social and economic crisis in decades, with shortages of everything from food, medicine and fuel and growing discontent on the streets.