Fee Cuba Now!

20,000 Cubans recruited to fight for Russia against Ukraine since 2022. The European Union remains a top trading partner of Cuba, and has not sanctioned Havana.

 

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart hosted a virtual intelligence briefing on Captiol Hill on September 18, 2025 were members of the Ukrainian government outlined the scale of Cuban involvement with Moscow in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Media reports quoted high ranking officials, including Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

 

Citing intelligence sources, Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, said the number of Cubans hired by the Russian military to fight in its war against Ukraine could be as high as 20,000.

“Cuba is ranked at the very top among the source countries for mercenaries,” Yusov said, speaking through a translator. “Currently, our good intelligence tells us about at least 20,000 people from Cuba who have already filled out the documents and have been recruited to fight for Russia. We have been able to physically identify over 1,000 of those mercenaries.”

Four months ago on May 6, 2025 in a dialogue on the applicability of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba H.E. Kaja Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, made an observation about Cuba’s relationship with Russia with regards to Ukraine where she recognized that ”Cuba has historic ties with Russia. In fact, President [Díaz-Canel] is currently going to attend the Victory Day in Moscow,” and the High Representative added, “Yet, Cuba has abstained in six UN votes on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, including the most recent. Cuba also plays a role on the multilateral stage.”

The European Union’s previous top diplomat, Josep Borrell, stated in Havana on May 25, 2023, that the 27-member bloc was Cuba’s biggest trading partner and one devoted to “mutual respect.” He said that the EU accounted for about one-third of the island’s foreign trade, “versus 8 percent by China or 8 percent by Russia,” reported Euractiv on May 26, 2023.

 

No mention made by either top diplomat of the 20,000 Cuban mercenaries contracted by Moscow to fight in Ukraine since the latest phase of the war began on February 24, 2022.

Ukrainian officials are asking for the United States to tighten sanctions on nations, like Cuba, that are backing Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and are accomplices to the war crimes committed by Moscow.

Oleksandr Merezhko, the chairman of the foreign relations committee of the Ukrainian parliament, said during the event that governments supporting Russia “should be regarded as accomplices of the war crimes and other crimes committed by Russia”.

And Vladyslav Vlasyuk, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggested the United States impose secondary sanctions or tariffs on governments like Cuba or North Korea – which have sent troops to help Russia – that are on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. That would be another way to further pressure the Russian government, he said.

This raises some obvious questions for the European Union, and their member states who also maintain close bilateral relations with the regime in Havana. Will the EU call on Havana to shutdown the pipeline of mercenaries to the front lines in Ukraine? Will the EU call on Havana to seek the return of Cubans now in harms way? If the Cuban government fails to reply will Europe impose secondary sanctions on Cuba?

Ukrainian intelligence sources have confirmed that 39 Cubans have died fighting in Putin’s illegal imperial war to destroy the people of Ukraine  The average age of this recruits is 35 years old. Estimates are that hundreds of Cubans have been killed in this conflict.

Below is the video of the virtual Intelligence briefing held last week.

 

 

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