The Russian government plans to recruit thousands of Cubans (around 25,000 according to expert estimates) as fighters in the invasion of Ukraine, as confirmed this Monday by Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Defense Committee of the State Duma of Russia.
In a statement recorded by the advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, Anton Gerashchenko, the Russian legislator claimed that "a true Cuban patriot cannot be prohibited from loving Russia," and added that Moscow welcomes anyone who wants to join the Russian Armed Forces in their "just struggle against global fascism."
"If young Cubans want to help our country, I see nothing strange in that. How many of them will there be? Well, whoever it may be. If they have that opportunity, we welcome everyone who wants to help our people", said Kartapolov to the Russian press.
The official's words, shared in a video by Gerashchenko, confirm for the first time from official Russian sources that there is a structured plan for the enlistment of Cubans in Vladimir Putin's army, something that the Kremlin had denied or downplayed in ambiguities up to this point.
The statement aligns with a report from the magazine Forbes, which reported last week that up to 25,000 Cubans may already be enlisted or in the process of being recruited to join military operations in Ukraine.
Promises of $2,000 and false job offers
According to Forbes, Russia is offering Cubans monthly salaries of about $2,000, an astronomical figure compared to the average $20 earned by a worker on the island.
However, behind that so-called “opportunity” lies a web of deceit, human trafficking, and military exploitation.
Ukrainian sources and documents disseminated by the press in previous months confirm that dozens of recruits were lured with false job offers in construction, but ended up being sent directly to the frontline, without training or a clear contract.
Many signed documents written in Russian, without an official translation, which left them in a situation of absolute legal vulnerability.
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (HUR) warned that the use of foreign fighters allows Russia to avoid political and economic costs
“If a foreigner dies, there are no social benefits or responsibilities; there are no dissatisfied relatives within Russia regarding the war; and, of course, there are fewer dead Russians,” noted a spokesperson from the HUR cited by Forbes.
The silence of the Cuban regime
Despite the growing evidence and international denunciations, the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel remains relatively silent, as they are increasingly heard discussing the issue with mounting anxiety.
The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs has insisted that “Cuba does not engage military personnel in foreign conflicts”, although it has never denied the existence of recruitment networks or the travel of thousands of Cubans to Russia since 2023.
According to various journalistic investigations, at least 20,000 Cubans have already been recruited, and more than a thousand are currently fighting in Ukrainian territory.
In September, Ukrainian authorities announced the capture of several Cuban mercenaries, one of whom confessed to being deceived with the promise of a civilian job in Russia.
Analysts agree that Havana allows or tolerates recruitment in exchange for economic and political benefits.
The political scientist Alexander Motyl, quoted by Forbes, states that "the Cuban regime seeks to obtain fresh cash and strengthen its ideological alliance with Putin."
"For the Kremlin, using Cuban soldiers is a cost-effective way to continue an unpopular war. For Cuba, it is a source of money and propaganda," stated the expert.
Export of poverty and repression
The incorporation of Cubans into the Russian army reflects the social desperation experienced on the island, where thousands of young people see war as an economic escape from hunger and the constant blackout.
In the words of Ukrainian advisor Gerashchenko, the situation demonstrates how the Moscow regime “is importing cannon fodder from Latin America” to sustain an increasingly unpopular war among Russians.
With Kartapolov's statement, Russia openly acknowledges that it is using Cubans on the front lines, while the Havana government continues to deny the facts.
The complicity of the Cuban regime —already pointed out by media such as Forbes and CiberCuba— places it at the center of a new international controversy, in which Cubans once again become victims of a system that pushes them to die far from their homeland for a cause that does not belong to them.
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