US submarine pulls into Guantanamo Bay a day after Russian warships arrive in Cuba

US Southern Command said the USS Helena, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, pulled into the waters near the US base in Cuba on Thursday, just a day after a Russian frigate, a nuclear-powered submarine, an oil tanker and a rescue tug crossed into Havana Bay after drills in the Atlantic Ocean.

The stop is part of a “routine port visit” as the submarine travels through Southern Command’s region, it said in a social media post.

Other US ships also have been tracking and monitoring the Russian drills, which Pentagon officials say do not represent a threat to the United States.

“This is not a surprise. We’ve seen them do these types of port calls before,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday when asked about the Russian drills. “We of course take it seriously, but these exercises don’t pose a threat to the United States.”

The exercises, however, come less than two weeks after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Russian President Vladimir Putin then suggested his military could respond with “asymmetrical steps” elsewhere in the world.

Singh said it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more Russian activity around the United States in such global exercises. The drills are in international waters, and U.S. officials expect the Russian ships to remain in the region through the summer and possibly also stop in Venezuela.

Russia is a longtime ally of Venezuela and Cuba, and its warships and aircraft have periodically made forays into the Caribbean.

Russian ships have occasionally docked in Havana since 2008 when a group of Russian vessels entered Cuban waters in what state media described as the first such visit in almost two decades. In 2015, a reconnaissance and communications ship arrived unannounced in Havana a day before the start of discussions between US and Cuban officials on the reopening of diplomatic relations.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reacts next to Canada\'s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macro and U.S. President Joe Biden, on the first day of the G7 summit, in Savelletri, Italy, June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

US, Europe clear way to $50B Ukraine loan in deal to tie up Russian assets until Moscow pays for war

 

President Joe Biden and top global allies took action on dual fronts Thursday to reinforce their solidarity with Ukraine as it fights off Russia’s invasion, with Group of Seven leaders clearing the way for a $50 billion loan package for Kyiv as he prepared to sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The money and the security support, both being announced during the annual G7 summit, held this year in southern Italy, were intended to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the world’s leading industrialized democracies were standing behind Ukraine.

But the gathering had the feel of leaders racing against the clock as several member countries hold elections this year that could result in new and more conservative leadership less focused on backing Ukraine. Topping that list is the White House race in November that could see the return of Republican Donald Trump to the American presidency.

Trump has been sceptical of providing additional military aid to Ukraine, at one point criticizing the “endless flow of American treasure.” He more recently has expressed openness to lending money instead and has said Ukraine’s independence is important to the United States.

The US and European countries have agreed to keep sanctioned Russian assets locked up until Moscow pays reparations for its invasion of Ukraine, a senior US official said. That clears the way for leaders to announce the $50 billion loan package for Ukraine.

The highly anticipated agreement will leverage interest and income from more than $260 billion in frozen Russian assets, largely held in Europe, to secure a $50 billion loan from the US and additional loans from other partners. Ukraine will receive the first payments sometime this year, but it will need time to use all the money, the official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the agreement, which will be included in the G7 leaders’ communique on Friday.

Ukraine will be able to spend the money in several areas, including for military, economic, humanitarian and reconstruction needs, the official said.

The leaders’ statement on Friday will also leave the door open to confiscating the Russian assets entirely, for which the allies have yet to secure the political will, largely citing legal and financial stability concerns.

Biden was meeting later Thursday with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, their second meeting in as many weeks, to discuss a new bilateral security agreement between the US and Ukraine, as the international group of wealthy democracies has been looking for new ways to bolster Ukraine’s defences against Russia. The two leaders planned a joint news conference afterwards.

The agreement on how to use the frozen Russian assets to benefit Ukraine comes several months after the White House broke through a logjam in Congress that stalled approval of some $60 billion in U.S. aid for Ukraine. The delay gave Russia time to make up ground on the battlefield. Biden publicly apologized to Zelenskyy for the holdup when they met last week in France.

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, described the security pact as a “real marker” of the US commitment to Ukraine, “not just for this month and this year, but for the many years ahead.”

Zelenskyy, on social media, said the document is “unprecedented, as it should be for leaders who support Ukraine.”

Sullivan said the agreement would not commit US troops directly to Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion. That is a red line drawn by Biden, who does not want to have the US pulled into a direct conflict with nuclear-armed Moscow.

Scores of countries and organizations are set to meet over the weekend in Switzerland to discuss peace for Ukraine. Biden is not scheduled to attend the summit, and that has disappointed Zelenskyy. Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the US instead while the Democratic president attends a campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles.

Zelenskyy recently said the Swiss summit needs Biden’s participation because other leaders value the US viewpoint. He said Biden’s absence “will be only an applaud to Putin, a personal applaud to Putin.”

It wasn’t just Ukraine that occupied the allies’ attention.

Biden announced that Italy was joining a G7 initiative to provide development assistance to Africa, which is meant as a bulwark against growing Chinese influence on the continent. Biden said $60 billion mobilized by the US and the G7 is proof “democracies can deliver,” as the US and its allies warn that China’s investments come attached with geopolitical and economic demands.

The annual summit opened Thursday in Italy’s picturesque Puglia region in the south, with leaders meeting in private as they discussed the war in Gaza, support for Ukraine and other mutual concerns.

The informal grouping of industrialized democracies — the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, plus European governing bodies — meets annually. Italy holds the rotating presidency this year, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is hosting her counterparts.

The trip is Biden’s second outside the US in as many weeks; he was in France last week for a state visit and ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II.

AP

Photo by Reuters