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Ukrainian lawmaker Maryan Zablotskiy proposed this Tuesday a “simultaneous humanitarian arrangement” that would allow for the release of Cuban mercenaries captured in his country in exchange for the release of political prisoners in Cuba, as well as the sending to the island of the remains of 41 of its citizens who died on the battlefield.
During a press conference in Miami, Florida, Zablotskiy, who chairs the Pro-Free Cuba Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, explained that Kiev is willing to consider the measure as a reciprocal humanitarian gesture between both countries.
"We can consider releasing the Cuban mercenaries if there is a simultaneous gesture to release Cuban political prisoners," stated the legislator during the live broadcast from the media outlet Cubanet on the YouTube platform.
A exchange conditioned on the freedom of political prisoners
The parliamentarian detailed that there are two possible avenues on the table: for Moscow to hand over Ukrainian prisoners to Kiev in exchange for the Cubans detained, or for Havana to release some of the more than 1,000 political prisoners that exist on the island in exchange for its nationals captured by Ukrainian forces.
Zablotskiy confirmed that several Cubans are currently detained in Ukraine and anticipated that this number could increase. He also assured that the prisoners are being treated humanely.
"Some have told us that it is the first time they are eating three meals a day and that they would rather be in a Ukrainian prison than return to Cuba," she stated.
The offer also includes the repatriation of the remains of 41 Cuban fighters who died in the war, whose bodies have been identified by the Ukrainian authorities.
"We can continue identifying bodies and report to the families in Cuba what has happened to these men," the legislator added.
"Russia is holding them": Cubans trapped on the front line
Zablotskiy reported that Russia has many Cubans who signed contracts for one year of service in the Russian Army held against their will and has not allowed them to return to their country, forcing them to continue fighting.
The deputy emphasized that, since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has never requested the release of foreigners in prisoner exchanges with Ukraine, highlighting the Kremlin's indifference towards its foreign allies.
The humanitarian proposal has support
The conference also featured Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, leader of the Cuban Resistance Assembly (ARC); René Bolio, president of the Mexican Commission on Human Rights; and Dragos Dolanescu from the Hemispheric Front for Freedom, among other activists and human rights defenders.
Gutiérrez-Boronat stated that the largest foreign contingent fighting for Russia is Cuban and denounced that the regime in Havana has abandoned its nationals imprisoned in Ukraine. He also expressed gratitude for the support of the Ukrainian Parliament, recalling that Kyiv voted in the UN against the resolution from the Cuban regime seeking an end to the U.S. embargo.
Political prisoners that Ukraine proposes to release as part of the swap
Durante el evento, René Bolio presentó una lista prioritaria de 19 presos políticos cubanos cuya liberación inmediata debería acompañar cualquier acuerdo humanitario. Entre ellos se encuentran Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Castillo “Osorbo”, Saylí Navarro, Sissi Abascal, Lizandra Góngora y Félix Navarro, todos reconocidos por su activismo pacífico y sus delicados estados de salud.
Cubanet published the names of the Cuban political prisoners that the ARC requests to prioritize:
1. Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (artist sentenced to five years in prison; he is not receiving adequate medical care and his health is deteriorating).
2. Maykel Castillo Pérez (musician, winner of the Latin Grammy for the song Patria y Vida, sentenced to nine years in prison; he is currently incarcerated with serious threats to his life).
3. Miguel Díaz Bauza (sentenced to 30 years in prison; 81 years old).
4. Ángel de Jesús Veliz Marcano (sentenced to six years in prison for the protests on July 11, 2021).
5. Sayli Navarro Álvarez (activist of the Ladies in White, arrested during the protests on July 11, 2021).
6. Félix Navarro (72 years old; in serious health condition; arrested during the protests on July 11, 2021).
7. Rolando Yusef Perez Morera (sentenced to eight years in prison for the protests of July 11, 2021; in serious health condition).
8. Sissi Abascal Zamora (activist of the Ladies in White, arrested during the protests on July 11, 2021).
9. Yeris Curbelo Aguilera (independent journalist sentenced to two years for covering the peaceful protests on May 6, 2023).
10. María Cristina Garrido (sentenced to seven years in prison for the protests of July 11, 2021).
11. Francisco Rangel Manzano (64 years old, sentenced to six years in prison for the protests on July 11, 2021; in serious health condition).
12. Lizandra Góngora (mother of five children, sentenced to 14 years in prison for the protests on July 11, 2021; in serious health condition).
13. Virgilio Mantilla Arango (systematically arrested for peaceful activism, awaiting sentencing on October 17).
14. Donaida Pérez Paseiro (sentenced to eight years in prison; she has two small children).
15. Loreto Hernández García (sentenced to seven years in prison; in serious health condition).
16. Jordan Marrero Huerta (arrested on April 24, 2025; remains in prison without trial for reporting on social media abuses against political prisoners).
17. Manuel Vázquez Licea (sentenced to six years in prison for the protests of July 11, 2021).
18. Alexis Borges Wilson (59 years old, sentenced to 17 years in prison for the protests of July 11, 2021).
19. Daniel Alfaro Frías (Cuban peasant sentenced to nine years in prison for his activism).
"We want the absolute, unconditional, and immediate freedom of all political prisoners in Cuba, but we have selected the most urgent cases," explained Bolio, who also demanded guarantees that those released will not be re-incarcerated or expelled from the country.
In this regard, the Hemispheric Front for Freedom provided logistical support to facilitate the repatriation or resettlement of Cuban prisoners who do not wish to return to the Island.
"We are committed to finding a third country to receive the Cuban mercenaries who are currently imprisoned in Ukraine. They cannot return to Russia and do not wish to go back to Cuba," declared Dolanescu.
A political gesture with moral weight
The Ukrainian proposal represents not only a humanitarian negotiation but also a symbolic blow to the Cuban regime, as it exposes the double standards of Havana, which sends its citizens to die for Russia while keeping over a thousand political prisoners on the Island.
While the Cuban government remains silent about its nationals who have died or been detained in the conflict, Ukraine makes a gesture that combines diplomacy, moral pressure, and humanitarianism, placing the regime in an uncomfortable dilemma: to choose between its Russian allies or the life and freedom of its own citizens.
Cuban Mercenaries in the War Against Ukraine
Ukrainian authorities and sources cited by exile organizations estimate that up to 25,000 Cuban citizens may have been recruited by Russia to fight in the invasion of Ukraine, a figure that highlights the scale of the phenomenon following the identification of 39 deceased individuals whose names were released by Ukrainian deputy Maryan Zablotskiy.
The main draw for many of these recruits is economic: according to Forbes, Russia offers salaries of around 2,000 dollars a month, a staggering amount compared to the 20 dollars earned, on average, by a worker on the Island.
However, behind the salary incentive lies a web of deceit and exploitation, with false job offers for civilian positions in Russia that end with recruits being sent to the front lines without military training or clear contracts.
Several signed documents in Russian without official translation, leaving them in legal vulnerability.
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (HUR) explains the use of foreign fighters as a low-cost political strategy for the Kremlin: if recruits from other countries die, there are no social benefits or pressure from dissatisfied Russian families over the war.
This logic —according to cited sources— helps to conceal the internal impact of the conflict and to sustain an unpopular war among the Russians themselves.
On the ground, Ukraine has captured several Cubans, and at least one confessed to being deceived with the promise of a civilian job before being sent to fight.
Meanwhile, exile media have circulated partial lists of recruits and accounts of recruitment that describe networks of intermediaries, routes to Russia, and vulnerable conditions exploited by those organizing the recruitment.
The social dimension of the phenomenon is rooted in the structural crisis in Cuba: scarcity, blackouts, meager wages, and the deterioration of the productive fabric are pushing thousands of young people to take extreme risks.
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