Cuban mercenaries remain on the streets after being expelled from the Russian army: "They scammed us"

A group of Cuban mercenaries are stranded on the streets of Moscow, without papers and without the promised salary, after being expelled from the Russian army.

The independent media elTOQUE interviewed seven of them, who claim that after being recruited under deception to fight in Ukrainian territory by the Russian army, "they scammed us."

These people claim they were hired with promises of a full salary and immigration benefits, and now face the reality of being scammed and abandoned, and sleeping in bus terminals or at the airport.

According to the testimonies collected, at least seven Cubans were recruited by two women identified as Elena Shuvalova and Dayana David Díaz, who promised them salaries, Russian passports and other benefits in exchange for joining Putin's troops in Ukraine.

However, once at the front, the conditions were not met as promised.

"They scammed us, they threaten us," declares one of those affected through an audio sent in April.

He argues that they were not paid their full salaries and were not provided with any legal documents supporting their stay in Russia.

The recruitment of Cubans for the war in Ukraine came to light in May 2023, when elTOQUE reported on the presence of Cuban soldiers in the conflict.

Although Cuban authorities initially claimed to have neutralized the recruitment network, recent evidence suggests that these operations continue.

Cuban recruits report that they were deceived from the beginning, signing untranslated contracts and without receiving the promised compensation.

Some claim that the "recruiters" kept part of their salaries, while others were expelled from the army without a clear explanation.

They threaten others to return to the battle front, something they do not want, they said.

Since November of last year, several Cuban deaths in the line of battle.

Families in Cuba desperately denounced that the young people had been deceived with contracts for construction work, and upon arriving in Russia they were sent to the front.

A mother who was promised the repatriation of the body of her son, who died after a Ukrainian drone attack, and then learned that the young man had been buried in a common grave.