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The government of Ukraine denied on Tuesday the statements made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (MINREX), which described as “unfounded and false” the accusations from the U.S. Department of State regarding the involvement of Cuban citizens in the war of Russia against Ukraine.
Through the humanitarian project 'Quiero Vivir' (Хочу Жить), dependent on the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Kiev stated that there is no doubt about the presence of thousands of Cuban mercenaries integrated into the Russian forces, and accused the Havana regime of “not doing enough to stop the systematic recruitment” of its citizens by Moscow.
The fact that thousands of Cubans have fought and continue to fight as part of the Russian army has been no secret for quite a while, stated the announcement published on the official channels of the Ukrainian project.
According to 'Quiero Vivir', which has recently published lists containing names and contracts of foreign fighters, more than 1,000 Cubans have signed agreements with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and the actual number could exceed 5,000, as also stated by the U.S. Department of State in a diplomatic letter sent to various embassies around the world.
The project, which facilitates the voluntary surrender of Russian and foreign soldiers, published data in May on over a thousand hired Cubans and interviewed several Cuban-origin prisoners of war, including Frank Darío Jarrosay Manfuga, captured on the eastern front in 2024.
Since then, other compatriots have surrendered to the Ukrainian forces, including Ernesto-Michel Pérez Albelaes, a native of Sancti Spíritus, who signed his contract with the Russian army on August 28, 2025.
Ukrainian sources claim that the presence of Cubans in Russian military training centers is constant, and that they receive regular reports of new groups arriving from Cuba, as well as dozens of casualties recorded among foreign ranks.
The parallel project 'Quiero Encontrar', dedicated to locating missing soldiers, has also received requests from Cuban families seeking news of their relatives recruited by Russia.
There is no debate regarding the involvement of Cuban mercenaries in the war of Russia against Ukraine. The question is whether the Cuban government is doing enough to prevent it,” the statement asserted.
The statement acknowledged that Cuban courts have conducted nine trials for mercenarism, involving forty defendants, but deemed these proceedings as "insufficient" given the scale of the phenomenon.
The amount of funds and efforts invested by Russia in the creation of recruitment networks requires a more active response if Cuba genuinely opposes these illegal practices,” the text noted.
Ukraine urged Havana to follow the example of India, whose government demanded that the Kremlin stop recruitment and repatriate Indian citizens enlisted in the Russian army.
“It is possible to solve the problem if there is political will,” stated 'Quiero Vivir', warning that, for now, Cuba's diplomatic efforts seem to be aimed at those who denounce the problem rather than those who are sending their citizens to the slaughter.
The message from Kiev also questioned the regime's indifference towards the Cubans captured on the front line.
“We hope that the Cuban authorities take an interest in the fate of their citizens who fought against Ukraine and were captured. These individuals have become expendable, in Russia and in their homeland,” the statement concluded.
The Ukrainian statement comes just days after the Cuban Foreign Ministry rejected Washington's accusations and asserted that “Cuba is not involved in the armed conflict in Ukraine nor does it participate with military personnel in any country.”
However, the data released by international media, along with testimonies from fighters and family members, demonstrates a massive involvement of Cuban citizens recruited by Russia since 2023, often under deception or false promises of employment.
While Havana insists on a policy of "zero tolerance" towards mercenarism, Ukraine argues that the regime's inaction turns that slogan into a farce.
Among the diplomatic missions, the Moscow–Varadero flights, and the contracts signed at training bases in Ryazan, a reality has emerged that the Cuban government can no longer deny: thousands of its citizens are fighting and dying in a foreign war, under a flag that is not their own.
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