The government of Saint Petersburg formally handed over three ambulances and a Lada Iskra car to Cuban health institutions on Saturday, in a ceremony held at the Ramón González Coro Teaching Gyneco-Obstetric Hospital, in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, as reported on Facebook by the Russian embassy in Havana.
The vehicles are intended for medical centers in Havana, Matanzas, and Santiago de Cuba, and will be specifically integrated into the maternal and child healthcare program, as highlighted by Yagen Pomares Pérez, General Director of Health for Havana, who spoke on behalf of the Cuban side during the event.
The agreement that led to this donation was reached in November 2025, when the governor of St. Petersburg, Aleksandr Beglov, visited Cuba and committed to sending the units. The ambulances physically arrived on the island in August 2026, while Saturday's event marked the official handover to health institutions.
The Russian ambassador to Cuba, Víctor Koronelli, presided over the ceremony alongside Blanca Nieves Toymil, director of Foreign Trade and International Relations of the Government of Havana, and Aliuska López Reyes, director of Foreign Investment and International Cooperation of the Province of Matanzas.
In his speech, Koronelli took the opportunity to criticize U.S. sanctions: "After a long and difficult journey, these vehicles have arrived in Cuba despite the inhumane commercial, economic, financial, and energy blockade imposed by the U.S. Government. This humanitarian donation is evidence of the historic bonds of friendship and solidarity that unite our brother nations."
The Lada Iskra included in the donation is the latest model from AvtoVAZ, launched on the market in July 2025, making it one of the first examples of that vehicle to arrive in Cuba.
The delivery is part of a sustained pattern of health cooperation between St. Petersburg and Cuba during 2025 and 2026. In December 2025, the donation of three ambulances equipped with ventilators and ECG machines was announced, in March 2026 St. Petersburg committed to a broader healthcare donation for Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas, and in May the José Ramón López Tabrane Maternity and Gynecological Hospital in Matanzas received a new Russian donation.
The Cuban healthcare system is undergoing an acute crisis marked by shortages of medications, medical equipment, and emergency vehicles, a direct consequence of decades of poor management under the dictatorship. In August, Russia also sent food, flashlights, and other supplies to Cuba in the context of the humanitarian crisis affecting the population.
The Ramón González Coro Hospital, the venue for the handover ceremony, is the main national referral center for gynecology and obstetrics in Cuba, founded in 1971, which underscores the maternal and child focus that the regime and Moscow have aimed to promote with this donation.
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