After Biden green lights Ukraine's use of American weapons to attack inside Russia, Putin sends four naval ships to Cuba

CARIBBEAN SEA - Just a week or so after the Biden administration gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use American weapons to strike targets inside Russia, the “empire” has struck back. 

Much as the Empire of Star Wars fame struck back at the Alliance, it appears that Russian President Vladimir Putin is likewise flexing his military muscles. According to the New York Post, the Russian military has deployed four warships, including a nuclear submarine to Cuba, located only 200 miles off the Florida coast as part of a “military exercise” in the Atlantic. 

The deployment, which includes the nuclear sub, a frigate, an oil tanker and a rescue tug, arrived in Havana Bay on Wednesday, welcomed to the communist nation by a 21-cannon salute. Images posted online showed the Russian Navy vessels entering the bay, greeted by Cubans lining the streets to view the ships and take a photo of two. 

The Post reported that some civilians wrapped themselves in Russian flags, while the frigate flew both the Russian and Cuban national flags as its crew stood in formation while approaching the island. The sub was identified as the Kazan, a Yasen-class nuclear powered cruise missile submarine. 

More worrisome to the United States, the sub is typically armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles, a technology which the U.S. has had difficulty in mastering, sources have reported. According to the Russian version of U.S. state media, Tass, it is unclear if the sub is currently armed with such missiles. 

Both U.S. and Cuban officials have insisted that while the Kazan is nuclear powered, it is not carrying nuclear weapons. 

Earlier Wednesday, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan said the U.S. is “closely monitoring” the Russian military activity in the Atlantic while adding there is no evidence Russia is transferring missiles to Cuba. 

Military experts believe the exercise is a response to Biden giving Ukraine the green light to deploy U.S. weapons in its conflict with Russia to defend the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. Some experts and critics say that is an unprecedented escalation of an already precarious situation by the Biden administration. 

“The warships are a reminder to Washington that it is unpleasant when an adversary meddles in your near abroad,” said Benjamin Gegan, director of the Latin America Program at the Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. 

“It also reminds Russia’s friends in the region, including U.S. antagonists Cuba and Venezuela, that Moscow is on their side,” he continued. 

Rebekah Koffler, a strategic intelligence analyst and author of "Putin's Playbook" said Putin is warning Washington "we can touch you." 

"Putin wants to be close to the U.S. homeland at this time when the Russia-Ukraine crisis is on a highly escalatory trajectory--given Biden's authorization to Ukraine, she told Fox News Digital. "If something goes wrong and Ukraine strikes critical targets in Russia closes to major cities, the Russian military can enable the Cubans to strike targets inside the U.S. or strike U.S. interests." 

Putin himself threatened to deploy weapons to nearby adversaries of the U.S. last week. 

"If [the U.S.] considers it possible to deliver such weapons to the combat zone to launch strikes on our territory and create problems for us, why don't we have the right to supply weapons of the same type to some regions of the world where they can be used to launch strikes on sensitive facilities of countries that do it to Russia?" Putin asked. 

US officials say Russian ships and subs have docked in Havana since 2008 as part of Russian military exercises, and they expect the latest rounds to remain there throughout the summer, with a possible side trip to Venezuela. 

The New York Post reported earlier this week that the flotilla of ships passed close to the Florida coastline on Tuesday, being closely monitored by the United States Navy and Coast Guard. 

According to maritime vessel tracker VesselFinder, the Coast Guard Cutter Stone, the Navy guided-missile destroyers USS Truxtun and USS Donald Cook, and the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec were the ships following close behind the Russian ships. 

A Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft was also spotted in the area.