Ukraine closes embassy in Cuba over Russian military recruitment
Ukraine has closed its embassy in Havana and is "downgrading" diplomatic ties due to the high number of Cuban citizens recruited to fight Russia's full-scale war, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced Oct. 29.
The announcement came the same day that Ukraine voted against a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba.
"Our vote is not against the Cuban people — we respect their right to live in prosperity. It is against the inaction of Cuba's authorities in response to massive recruitment of Cuban citizens to the Russian occupation army," Sybiha wrote on X.
"Thousands of them have signed contracts, joining the ranks of soldiers directly engaged in combat operations on Ukrainian soil."
Sybiha accused Havana of "complicity" with Russia's aggression in Ukraine due to its failure to stop the large-scale participation of Cuban citizens in the war.
Earlier in October, the U.S. circulated an unclassified cable sharing details about Cuba's support for Russia's full-scale invasion, in which it claimed an "estimated 1,000 to 5,000 Cubans (are) fighting in Ukraine." Cuba's foreign ministry denied the reports and said the U.S. was making "false accusations."
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 15 that at least 1,076 Cuban nationals have fought or are fighting for Russia in Ukraine. These numbers correspond with the lower end of the U.S. estimates, though both Sybiha and Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak referred to "thousands" of Cuban recruits.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
"(T)he Cuban government has become a strategic asset for Russia, actively supporting its war and aggression against a sovereign European state," Yermak said on Oct. 29.
"Thousands of Cuban soldiers are fighting against Ukraine as part of the Russian occupying forces, gaining combat experience, while Havana is increasingly involved in military and intelligence activities that pose a threat to international security."
Yermak also accused Cuba of helping Russia evade international sanctions.
Moscow has been recruiting foreign fighters from countries such as Nepal, Somalia, India, and Cuba since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022. Last year, Bloomberg reported that Russia was offering generous payments and the promise of citizenship to Cuban fighters, despite Havana's attempts to curb recruitment.
HUR's information suggests that some Cuban nationals are lured into traveling to Russia by the promise of lucrative construction work advertised on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
Recruits receive only two weeks of training at the Avangard training center in Moscow Oblast before being sent to the front line, according to HUR.
Cuba and Russia have maintained close ties since the Cold War. Most recently, Cuba joined the Russian-led BRICS group as a partner country in October 2024.
Francis Farrell
