Cuba has strongly denied allegations from the United States that its citizens are officially involved in fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. The rejection comes amid rising diplomatic tensions over reports that thousands of Cubans have been recruited to join the conflict.
According to AFP, the Cuban Foreign Ministry dismissed Washington’s accusations as “false,” insisting that no nationals were sent to Ukraine with the government’s approval. The statement followed a claim from the US State Department earlier in October that Havana had failed to protect its citizens from recruitment schemes exploiting them for the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ukrainian intelligence estimates that between 6,000 and 7,000 Cubans are currently fighting in Ukraine, making them the second-largest foreign group after North Korean troops, who reportedly number around 10,000. Kyiv’s “I Want to Live” project, which tracks foreign fighters, said in May that it had verified over 1,000 Cubans who signed contracts with the Russian military between 2023 and 2024. Ukrainian officials have also told US lawmakers that as many as 20,000 Cubans may have been recruited since 2022, with hundreds believed to have been killed.
The issue deepened when Russia’s Federation Council ratified a new military cooperation agreement with Cuba on October 8. The agreement, originally signed in March, commits Moscow to supplying Havana with 1.64 million tonnes of oil and petroleum products each year, along with assistance in hydroelectric development. The timing of the deal has fueled speculation about closer institutional ties between the two countries.
Since September 2023, Cuba has sentenced 26 citizens to prison terms of between five and 14 years for acting as mercenaries. Investigations by RFE/RL identified Russian national Yelena Smirnova as a central figure in recruitment operations that allegedly lured over 3,000 foreigners, including Cubans, through social media ads promising construction jobs but concealing military obligations.
The growing dispute threatens to worsen Cuba’s already fragile economy, which depends heavily on Russian oil, wheat, and political backing. The island nation, facing energy shortages and a deep financial crisis, has avoided condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations, maintaining what European Union officials describe as “historic ties” with Moscow.
Washington’s move to label the recruitment of Cubans as state-supported human trafficking marks a serious escalation and could lead to new sanctions, further straining Cuba’s struggling economy and limiting its access to international financial markets.
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