Cuba claims to have dismantled Russian fighter-recruitment network

The Cuban government says it is breaking up a clandestine effort in Russia to recruit Cuban fighters for the war in Ukraine, a move that comes as Moscow attempts to woo developing countries to its side in the conflict.

Cuba’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on Monday night that it “is working to neutralise and dismantle a human trafficking network” operating in Russia that “incorporate[s] Cuban citizens living there and even some living in Cuba, into the military forces” fighting in Ukraine.

It added that the Cuban government has launched criminal proceedings against those involved.

“Cuba has a firm and clear historical position against [mercenaries]” and is “not a part of the war in Ukraine”, the statement read.

It was an unusual criticism from Havana, which has historic ties with Russia and rarely breaks with Moscow on international issues. Cuba’s ruling Communist party, which has for decades attempted to cast US international ambitions as imperialist, has been put in an uncomfortable position by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has long been a destination for Cuban migrants seeking to escape poverty on the island, which has been isolated from much of the global economy due to US-led sanctions and the collapse of its main benefactor, the Soviet Union, at the end of the cold war. Russia does not require visitor visas from Cubans.

Andrés Pertierra, a researcher on Cuba at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that the Caribbean country under sanctions often uses its ties to Russia — which include agreements on rail infrastructure, trade and debt renegotiations — to exact concessions from the US.

“Cuba can pull Russia closer when the US doesn’t want to negotiate, then cool off as the US comes to the negotiating table,” Pertierra said. “The relationship with Russia isn’t one they want to go sour anytime soon.”

Cuba is mired in economic crisis. Economy minister Alejandro Gil told parliament in July that economic growth is less than 2 per cent this year and eight points below pre-pandemic levels. Blackouts continue to roil the country, leading to protests last year in a rare display of discontent from the heavily surveilled population.

Meanwhile, Russia has struggled with its own domestic weapons production and securing them from its limited number of allies in support of the war effort.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has been seeking new munitions, soldiers and mercenaries as Russia tries to contain a counteroffensive in southern and eastern Ukraine, and signalled a desire to deepen military ties with countries such as North Korea.

The announcement from Cuba came a day after the White House said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was expected to travel to Moscow to meet Putin to discuss Pyongyang selling weapons to Russia.

In May, a newspaper in Ryazan, a Russian city, reported that some Cubans had been contracted by the Russian military and sent to support the fighting in Ukraine.

Last week, a YouTube personality known as Alain Paparazzi Cubano, who is often critical of Cuba, spoke to two Cuban men who claimed to have been lured to Russia with promises of construction work before being forced to dig trenches on the front lines in Ukraine.

The statement by the Cuban foreign ministry did not mention either of those reports.