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Ron DeSantis breaks silence on Russian warships near Florida

Posted on by angelo

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke out for the first time Friday on Russian warships in Cuban waters, criticizing the Biden administration for espousing “weakness” on the world stage.

Images released Thursday by the Russian Defense Ministry show the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the nuclear submarine Kazan sailing in Havana Bay, about 100 miles south of Florida. They did not carry nuclear weapons but were armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles and Kalibr cruise missiles.

Cuba’s Foreign Ministry described the Russian naval presence as a reflection of the country’s “historically friendly relations” with Moscow, even saluting ships with a 21-gun salute. Moscow has defended the presence of its four-ship fleet as part of routine military exercises with its allies.

Ron DeSantis
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about a toll road relief program April 1 in Miami. On June 14, DeSantis commented on the presence of Russian warships in Cuban waters and said it was likely a “weak” response…


Joe Raedle/Getty Images

“I’m the governor of Florida, I’m not the commander in chief, but if my responsibilities were different, this wouldn’t be something we would allow,” DeSantis said Friday in Hollywood, Fla., according to footage recorded by Florida’s Voice. “I think it’s really concerning that under this administration they have adopted a posture of weakness that has invited more aggressive actions from our adversaries.”

A DeSantis spokesperson said News week via email that the governor’s remarks speak for themselves.

On Friday, an accelerated US Navy submarine, the USS Helenaconducted “a routine port visit…while conducting its global maritime security and national defense mission,” U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a statement on social media.

Before the ships attracted widespread attention, open source maritime and aerial tracking data appeared to reveal that U.S. naval and air assets were tracking Russian warships as they passed the east coast of Florida to reach their destination in Cuba.

The governor also called it “problematic” that activities by hostile nations “are probably at a level that we haven’t seen in many, many years.”

“I think history has shown that these bad actors respond to force and are deterred by force,” DeSantis added. “They will not be deterred by weakness.

“They won’t be deterred by confusion. They won’t be deterred by a president wandering aimlessly at the G7. They will be deterred because they know he’s not someone you want to mess with.”

DeSantis was referring to a video of President Joe Biden “walking away” from world leaders at the Group of Seven (G7) summit on Thursday.

A video shared on X-rated accounts like RNC Research, run by former President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee, claims that Biden’s actions during a skydiving demonstration were evidence of his diminished mental capacity.

The video footage, which was released by other conservative media outlets and publications like New York Postwas refuted by the White House and Democrats for failing to show the full clip or provide correct context.

“The Murdoch media is so desperate to distract from @POTUS’ record that they just lie,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates wrote on X. “Here they are using a artificially narrow frame to hide from viewers that he has just seen a skydiving demonstration He congratulates one of the divers and gives a thumbs up.