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Russia does not have any evacuation plans for its approximately 3,000 citizens residing in Cuba, despite the increasing military tension between Washington and Havana, declared the Russian ambassador on the island, Víktor Koronelli, who attributed the decision to the expectation that no large-scale conflict is anticipated, but rather, if anything, a localized operation.
"The issue of evacuating Russian citizens from the island is not on the agenda," stated Koronelli to the newspaper Izvestia this week
The diplomat simultaneously confirmed that civil defense drills in Cuba have intensified in response to the threat of a possible U.S. intervention.
"The exercises involving the population under the direction of the National Civil Defense Staff are conducted regularly on the island. Of course, in the context of the threats from the United States, greater attention is currently being paid to the relevant classes and recommendations," noted Koronelli.
Since January, Cuba has been conducting weekend defense preparation exercises that include weapons training, mine handling, and population evacuation.
In one of the exercises in March in Havana, about 1,900 people participated, practicing everything from assembly and disassembly of weapons to first aid.
The ambassador's statement comes at a time of heightened tension in the Caribbean. On May 20, the U.S. Southern Command confirmed the arrival of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Caribbean Sea, as part of the Southern Seas 2026 exercise.
That same day, the Department of Justice declassified the formal indictment from a federal grand jury against former President Raúl Castro for the downing of two planes from Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, which resulted in the death of four Cuban Americans.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Castro as a "fugitive from American justice" and promised to bring him to court.
The regime responded on May 22 with a massive event at the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune in Havana, which Raúl Castro himself did not attend despite being the reason for the gathering.
Her daughter, the deputy Mariela Castro came to her father's defense and stated to the television network Russia Today: "No one is going to kidnap him. I can assure you of that. Neither him nor anyone else."
The director of the National Center for Sexual Education (Cenesex) also conveyed her father's words: "No one takes me alive. They will catch me fighting."
The leader Miguel Díaz-Canel challenged Washington with a Facebook post quoting the National Hero José Martí (1853-1895): "The brutal and troubled North that despises us does not yet know us: seeking to divide us, it has united us even more."
The government of Vladimir Putin, for its part, accused Washington of preparing a military intervention and described the charges against Raúl Castro as "fabricated," while reaffirming its "full solidarity" with Havana.
However, analysts note that Moscow, immersed in the war in Ukraine, can only offer political and diplomatic support, lacking military intervention capabilities comparable to those of the Soviet era.
In February, Russia did repatriate nearly 4,300 Russian tourists stranded in Cuba due to the fuel crisis, in a limited operation that did not affect permanent residents on the island.
Raúl Castro will turn 95 on June 3; Díaz-Canel described his health condition in April as "fragile due to his advanced age."
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