A car drives past a Russian naval frigate docked in Havana, Cuba, 27 July 2024. Photo: EPA / Ernesto Mastrascusa
The US is using Cuba’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine as an argument against a UN resolution calling on Washington to lift its decades-long embargo of the island, alleging that Havana has allowed up to 5,000 Cuban citizens to fight alongside the Russian military, Reuters reported on Sunday.
A State Department cable circulated to US missions on 2 October instructed diplomats to lobby governments to vote against the non-binding resolution, which has passed by a wide margin every year since 1992, Reuters reported. In 2024, it was backed by 187 countries, with only the US and Israel opposing it.
The cable reportedly contained some “two dozen” talking points accusing Cuba of “incorrectly” blaming the US for its problems, as well as “squandering its limited resources, denying its people basic human rights and being a threat to international peace”, Reuters said. One of the points cited Havana’s alleged support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“After North Korea, Cuba is the largest contributor of foreign troops to Russia’s aggression, with an estimated 1,000-5,000 Cubans fighting in Ukraine”, Reuters reported the cable as saying.
A State Department spokesperson declined to provide further details on the Cuban fighters, but said Havana had “failed to protect its citizens from being used as pawns in the Russia-Ukraine war”.
Ukrainian officials had also warned US lawmakers in recent weeks of the “growing scale” of Russia’s recruitment of Cuban mercenaries to fight its war, Reuters reported.
In May, Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence published the names of just over 1,000 Cuban citizens it said had been recruited to fight alongside the Russian military between 2023 and 2024, but added that the true number of Cuban fighters in Ukraine could be as high as 20,000.
“Russia has been actively recruiting mercenaries from Cuba since early 2023”, the agency said at the time. “Cubans, along with Sri Lankans, Nepalese and Central Asians, make up the backbone of the mercenary forces deployed against Ukraine”.
In late 2023, the authorities in Havana announced the arrest of 17 people over the attempted recruitment of Cubans to fight for Russia in Ukraine, and warned that those found guilty could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
