(NewsNation) – Russia sent three warships and a nuclear submarine to Cuban waters on Tuesday to routine military exercisesa show of force that worries some.
“Vladimir Putin is up to his own tricks again. He likes to scare people,” former spy Jack Barsky said in an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill” on Wednesday.
Barsky was recruited by the KGB and sent to the United States, where he spent a decade spying for the Soviet Union.
He then left the KGB and lived in the US for decades under a false identity before being discovered by the FBI.
Author of “Deep Undercover: My Secret Life & Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America,” Barsky offers unique insight into Russia’s motivations in Cuba and elsewhere.
“You have to worry about this kind of thing. You can’t look at it as just a routine exercise. It has to be seen in the context of Putin claiming he is actually fighting the West in Ukraine.” Barsky said.
The Pentagon remains indifferent to Russia’s mobilizations. The agency said the visit was part of routine naval activity andposes no threatto the United States.
“All Putin does is send messages, especially threatening messages,” Barsky said.
Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO General Wesley Clark shared similar sentiments on NewsNation’s “The Hill” on Tuesday, although he believes this visit to Cuban waters does not signal war.
“I don’t think it’s something that’s going to erupt into violence,” Clark said. [Vladimir Putin] send a message to the United States and the world? Clear.”
Barsky compared Russia’s presence in the Caribbean to the Cuban missile crisis, when fear of nuclear war paralyzed America for nearly two weeks.
“With this kind of stress we have, there is always the possibility of an accidental launch,” Barsky said. “I’m worried about that.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
