Moscow cars donated by Russia to Cuba are circulating in Havana amid a severe transportation crisis

A small batch of 10 Moskvich cars, donated by the Moscow government to the Cuban regime, began to circulate this week in Havana, local authorities confirmed.

The delivery, presented by the official press as a gesture of “solidarity and brotherhood,” happens amid the worst collapse of public transportation and state infrastructure that the capital has experienced in decades.

The vehicles were offered last May by the mayor of Moscow, Serguéi Sobianin, during the visit of the designated president Miguel Díaz-Canel to the Moskvich automotive plant, a recently reactivated Soviet factory under state control with Chinese technological assistance, reported Prensa Latina.

During the reception ceremony held at the Salvador Allende Hospital, the governor of Havana, Yanet Hernández, expressed gratitude for the "solidarity gesture" from the Kremlin and assured that the vehicles will be allocated to Maternal and Child Care programs and to the logistical support of health and education systems in the capital.

The donation—just ten cars—will be made available to that ministry amid reports of a complete collapse of the Cuban healthcare system.

According to state media, the delivery of the Moskvich is part of the "strategic cooperation" between both governments, as part of the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Russia.

The first counselor of the Russian embassy in Havana, Serguei Pakhomenko, stated that the gift reaffirms the "brotherhood between the peoples," although he refrained from mentioning the economic and military interests that Moscow has intensified on the island in recent years.

Another Russian diplomat, Vitaly Sprinchan, asserted that the new Moskvich models represent “the rebirth of the automotive industry in Russia,” a sector heavily impacted by the international sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine.

It was also highlighted that Russian cars continue to be in high demand in Cuba, where Soviet models from the 1970s and 1980s are still in circulation.

In recent years, Russia has sent hundreds of utility vehicles: more than 400 GAZelle minibuses, 300 Lada cars, 2,000 Kamaz trucks, and several UAZ models, many of which are intended for tourism or state entities, not for popular public transportation.

Meanwhile, Cubans continue to facea structural mobility crisis, exacerbated by a lack of fuel, the deterioration of the vehicle fleet, and corruption within transportation companies.