Cuban authorities deny the involvement of their citizens in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although “the facts on the ground suggest otherwise,” Oksana Diakun said.
MIAMI, United States. – A public hearing titled “Cuban mercenaries in the Russian aggression against Ukraine”, held this Wednesday in Brusselsbrought together MEPs, Cuban exile leaders and Ukrainian representatives, who denounced the Havana regime for the recruitment and deployment of Cuban citizens to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine and demanded an immediate change in the policy of the European Union towards Cuba, including the suspension of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement in force between the bloc of 27 and the Island.
In the opening speech, it was stated that there are “evaluations” and “independent reports” that would point to “thousands of Cuban nationals” recruited for the Ukrainian front, with an estimated range “from several thousand to 20,000.” “Many” of the Cubans would have been lured “with false promises of well-paid construction jobs or contracts” and ended up “trapped” in the war, while “others” would have traveled “with the full complicity or even acting with facilitation of the Cuban regime.”
Oksana Diakun, deputy head of the Ukrainian Mission to the European Union, assured that the Russian Federation has intensified the recruitment of foreigners and that, in numerous cases, the recruitment occurs through deception, with offers of employment, education or legal status that result in the forced signing of military contracts and sending them to the front line.
“There is growing evidence that, in many cases, foreign nationals are recruited through deception. They are lured with false promises of well-paying jobs, education or legal status, only to be forced to sign military contracts and sent to the front lines to fight against Ukraine,” Diakun stated.
In relation to Cuba, the Ukrainian official said that the case is “particularly disturbing” and stated that the Cuban authorities “officially deny” the involvement of their citizens, although “the facts on the ground suggest otherwise.”
“Cuban citizens were captured on multiple occasions by the Ukrainian defense forces on the front line, fighting alongside Russian troops. The most recent case took place just 10 days ago“, held.
Diakun added that “tens of thousands” of Cubans have signed contracts to join the forces that directly participate in combat operations on Ukrainian soil, and described the phenomenon as a “systematic practice” with networks that operate “openly” and with “tacit” tolerance from the authorities in Havana.
“It is not a question of isolated Cuban individuals acting on their own. It is a systematic practice that involves basic networks that operate openly with tacit tolerance from the authorities in Havana,” he stated.
During the hearing, several participants focused their call on the EU’s political and financial relationship with Cuba and demanded to “immediately freeze” the Cooperation and Political Dialogue Agreement between the European Union and the Cuban regime, alleging human rights violations and Cuban participation in “aggressive actions” in external scenarios.
Cuban Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, leader of the Cuban Resistance Assembly (ARC), argued that the EU must see the Castro regime as a “systematic servant” of “Russian imperialism.” “The support of the Castro dictatorship for the ‘Special Military Operation’ is diplomatic, political and also with armed forces,” he stated.
Gutiérrez-Boronat insisted that Cuban participation “is not limited to individual soldiers” and assured that Cuban “special forces units” would have participated in the conflict, on the Russian side. He also claimed to have interviewed “the majority of Cuban prisoners of war” on trips to Ukraine and claimed to have “full confirmation” of an “active recruitment network” with “support and participation” of the Cuban regime.
The hearing concluded with a condemnation of the subordination of Havana to Vladimir Putin and the request that the European Union stop financing the Cuban regime. The event was organized by the Conservatives and Reformists bloc of the European Parliament and the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC).
In addition to the aforementioned figures, the MEPs Mariusz Kaminski (Poland), Carlo Fidanza (Italy) and Arkadiusz Mularczyk (Poland) participated in the hearing, as well as the federal congressmen of the United States Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez and the state senator Alexis Calatayud.
Also participating were Julián Obligio, honorary president of the Union of Latin American Parties (UPLA); Maryan Zablotsky, member of the Ukrainian Parliament; Andrij Jusov, spokesman for the Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine; Ricardo Godoy, Salvadoran leader of the Hemispheric Front for Freedom, and Cuban opposition leader Rosa María Payá, founder of the Cuba Decide initiative.
