The Government of Cuba denied this Saturday that it was involved in the war in ukrainebut recognized the existence of Cubans who participate in the conflict “on their own.”
In a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (Minrex), Havana rejected the Trump Administration’s accusations about the island’s alleged participation in the conflict between Moscow and kyiv, and “categorically” confirmed that it is not part of it.
This is, the Foreign Ministry stated, “a slanderous accusation that began in 2023 by some media outlets, without providing evidence or foundation of any kind, and clearly fulfilling an entrusted service.”
“The United States government has not provided and will not be able to provide any evidence to support the unfounded and mendacious accusations of its new smear campaign against Cuba,” the statement maintains.
Furthermore, the Minrex claims not to have “accurate information” about the Cubans fighting in Ukraine and denies that Havana has “stimulated” their participation in the war.
“Our authorities do not have precise information about Cuban nationals who on their own have participated or participate in the military forces of both parties in the war. What is irrefutable is that none of them have the encouragement, commitment or consent of the Cuban State for their actions,” he says.
The Cuban Government categorically ratifies that #Cuba is not part of the armed conflict in Ukraine, nor does it participate with military personnel there, or in any other country.
https://t.co/WKX4GhCMpT pic.twitter.com/iODMJeEnly
— Cuban Foreign Ministry (@CubaMINREX) October 11, 2025
“Zero tolerance” and trials for mercenarism
The Minrex statement also proclaims Havana’s “zero tolerance” for “mercenarism, human trafficking and the participation of its nationals in any armed confrontation in another country” and lists judicial actions against people involved in a recruitment network in Cuba.
The Foreign Ministry recalls that two years ago “when the presence of Cubans was detected in the conflict in Ukraine, recruitment within the national territory was neutralized and criminal proceedings were initiated for that purpose.”
Based on the above, “in the period from 2023 to 2025, 9 criminal proceedings have been presented to Cuban courts for the crime of mercenarism, against 40 defendants,” the statement says.
“In 8 cases trials have been held, of which in 5 a conviction was handed down against 26 defendants, with sentences between 5 and 14 years of deprivation of liberty. Three processes are pending for the Court to issue a sentence, and one case is pending trial,” he details.
Cuba dismantles a trafficking network of Cubans recruited for the war in Ukraine
Cubans fighting in Ukraine
Regarding the Cubans who have continued to get involved in the war in Ukraine in recent years, Havana blames foreign organizations, with which it says it has “no ties.”
“The Cubans who participate in both sides of the armed confrontation have been recruited through organizations that do not reside in our country, nor have any links with the Cuban government,” the statement notes.
“In the vast majority, this recruitment is carried out from abroad among nationals who reside or remain temporarily in various countries, as is the recruitment for this conflict of a multiplicity of nationalities in figures that are also imprecise,” he adds.
Recently, the US State Department distributed to its diplomats an internal memorandum in which it denounces that between 1,000 and 5,000 Cubans have been recruited by Russia as mercenaries, particularly for the war in Ukraine.
“After North Korea, Cuba has become the largest source of foreign mercenaries for the Russian military,” the memo states, accusing Havana of having “failed to protect its citizens from being used as pawns in the Russian-Ukrainian war.”
Havana, for its part, denounced that Washington pressures other countries not to vote in favor of the resolution it presents annually at the UN against the US embargo.
According to other sources cited by the agency EFEincluding from Ukraine itself, up to 20 thousand Cubans would have been recruited to fight alongside the Russian troops, of which between 200 and 300 would have died.
