Ukraine argues that the collection of Cuban nationals includes operations of Russian recruiters on the island.
Miami, United States. -Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26) headed on Thursday a virtual informative session on national security in which advisors to the Ukrainian government and kyiv legislators stated that some 20,000 Cuban citizens would have been recruited by Russia to combat in the war against Ukraine.
The session, which was held this Thursday from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Mario Díaz-Balart “To expose the alarming presence of thousands of Cuban nationals who fight with Russia.” In that sense, he stressed the risks for the security of the US and the region derived from the alliance between Moscow and Havana.
Vladyslav Vlasyuk, president’s advisor Volodimir Zelenski Regarding sanctions, he said: “We are currently talking about at least 20,000 Cuban mercenaries fighting Ukraine.” He added: “We have been able to physically identify more than 1,000 of those mercenaries.”
He also said that at least 250 contracts would have expired without those recruited being released by the Russian forces. “The average monthly salary for Cuban mercenaries in Russia is 2,000 dollars per month,” he said. In addition, he indicated that his Middle Ages is 35 years. “On average they die between 140 and 150 days after signing the contract. The shortest known period between the signing of the contract and death is seven days,” he said.
According to the materials presented during the meeting, the Ukrainian authorities argue that the collection includes operations of Russian recruiters in Cuba and that there are formal complaints of Cuban relatives before Russian instances for disappearances, defaults and forced retention after the expiration of contracts. In the examples shown, the case of a Cuban woman was cited with a contract dated January 13, 2025 by 195,000 blubers per month, as well as a criminal process in Russia against the recruiter Yelena Smirnova, who would have admitted to embezzlement of salaries of between 300 and 400 Cubans. Letters of retained Cubans who denounced defaults and the impossibility of leaving units deployed in Crimea were also exposed.
Oleksandr Merezhko, president of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Ukrain considered accomplices of war crimes and other crimes committed by Russia. ” The deputy said he will advocate before European instances to recognize the Cuban regime “as a terrorist regime.”
Díaz-Balart questioned Havana European financial support in the context of Ukraine defense. “That has to end. It is unsustainable and unacceptable,” he said, referring to credits and forgives of debt to Cuba by European countries. Your colleague Carlos A. Giménez (FL-28) requested more hard measures to cut Russian energy income and was blunt about international alignment: “There is no gray zone here. You are with Ukraine or you are against Ukraine.”
The congresswoman María Elvira Salazar (FL-27) expressed support to kyiv and requested details about the mechanism of capturing Cubans with salary promises. “You lived communism, but they experienced freedom for 30 years. That is exactly what we want for the Cuban people,” he said.
Rosa María Payá, American commissioner in the Inter -American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), warned about the magnitude of the phenomenon: “The figures that you have revealed today exceed the calculation we had in mind.” And he stressed: “It is not possible for a strategy and an operation of this size to be carried out in Cuba without the direct participation, facilitation and coordination of the Cuban regime.”
The Ukrainian deputy Maryan Zablotskyy remarked the weight of the Caribbean contingent: “The second most numerous contingent after the North Koreans is the Cuban.” Ukrainian participants urged new sanctions packages in the European Union and explore measures such as secondary sanctions and tariffs linked to cooperation with states designated as sponsors of terrorism.
At the close, Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronatgeneral secretary of the Assembly of the Cuban and Moderator of the Panel, declared Cubanet: “The forceful revelations made today at the bilateral meeting between high Ukrainian leaders and Cuban American congressmen in the Capitol have undressed full castrocommunist participation in aggression against Ukraine and European complicity in financing the Castro regime, which is an aggressor against Ukraine.”
