Russia “massively” recruits Cuban mercenaries for its war against Ukraine, placing them in dangerous frontline positions and treating them as expendable, with little regard for their well-being or safety, according to the National Resistance Center run by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
The report from the Center for National Resistance put out on 26 October highlights the extensive involvement of Cubans in the eastern front in Ukraine, specifically near Kharkiv’s Kupiansk, and Donetsk’s Bakhmut and Horlivka:
“In particular, according to the underground, Cubans are used in the Kupiansk direction, as well as between Bakhmut and Horlivka. Earlier, the recruitment of Cuban citizens was reported by Cyber Resistance activists who hacked the email of Anton Perevozchikov, head of the recruitment center for contract military service in Tula,” the Center for National Resistance wrote.
The Center notes that the Cuban mercenaries serve in various Russian units and are used as expendable infantry:
“The Russians themselves are proud to send Cubans to the [battle] in the advanced units because they ‘don’t feel sorry for them.’ At the same time, mercenaries are not formed into a separate unit, but are scattered among existing Russian units, regardless of whether the mercenary speaks Russian.”
In September, the Cuban Interior Ministry announced that it revealed a Russian-operated human trafficking ring aimed at incorporating Cuban citizens into the Russian military forces participating in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Cuba accuses Russia of recruiting its nationals to fight against Ukraine
Meanwhile, the Cuban Foreign Ministry emphasized that “Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine” and acts “against those who within the national territory participate in any form of human trafficking for mercenarism or recruitment purposes.”
