Ukraine closes Havana embassy over Cuban fighter pipeline for Russia

BERLIN — Ukraine has closed its embassy in Cuba and censured the government in Havana over allegations that the Caribbean dictatorship is complicit in sending troops to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The move comes just weeks after Russia and Cuba signed a military cooperation agreement and the U.S. released intelligence suggesting as many as 5,000 Cubans may be on the frontlines.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Cuba of being “complicit” in Russia’s war of aggression by allowing “thousands” of its citizens to travel to Russia to fight as mercenaries on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine. Cuba has also provided diplomatic backing to Russia and assisted Moscow in circumventing Western sanctions. Cuba’s president has previously publicly wished Russia “success” in its invasion of Ukraine.

Wednesday’s announcement to close the embassy and downgrade diplomatic ties came alongside a first-ever “no” vote by Ukraine on an annual United Nations resolution calling for the lifting of the draconian U.S. embargo on Cuba.

“Our vote is not against the Cuban people — we respect their right to live in prosperity. It is against the inaction of Cuba’s authorities in response to massive recruitment of Cuban citizens to the Russian occupation army,” Sybiha said.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Andrii Melnyk, called Cuban nationals “the largest group of foreign mercenaries in the Russian army” ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

The United States estimates that as many as 5,000 Cubans may be fighting in Ukraine, according to an unclassified cable sent to American diplomatic missions on Oct. 2 and first reported by Reuters . According to the document, “after North Korea, Cuba is the largest contributor of foreign troops to Russia’s aggression.”

Ukrainian intelligence has reported 39 confirmed Cubans killed during the war in Ukraine, though estimates of actual casualties are in the low hundreds. The military intelligence agency HUR has confirmed at least 1,076 Cuban fighters on the frontlines.

In response, the Cuban foreign ministry on Oct. 11 denied allegations of being involved in the Russo-Ukrainian war, calling the reports “false accusations” and saying that “it is irrefutable that none of them have the encouragement, commitment, or consent of the Cuban state for their actions.”

It remains unclear how systematic the recruitment of Cubans is. Russian investigative outlet Sistema revealed that two Russian women – a travel agent and a hairdresser – ran a recruitment scheme using false pretenses. They reportedly promised construction work with lucrative pay – construction gigs providing $2,000 monthly, or 100 times the average Cuban salary – only for Cubans to have their passports confiscated upon arriving in Russia and being pressured into signing a contract with the country’s military. Russian authorities later arrested both women.

In September 2023, Cuban authorities announced they had arrested 17 people involved in a human trafficking network recruiting Cubans to fight for Russia. There have been no subsequent updates.

It was not immediately clear what role the Cuban government played in the scheme, although the totalitarian nature of the country, which maintains strict travel controls on its citizens, suggests at least a certain degree of complicity. Melnyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, said the recruitment was taking place “openly with the silent consent of Havana’s authorities.”

Cuba and Russia have long maintained warm relations, rooted in the close ties the two countries forged during the Cold War. The Cuban government also has a track record of sending its citizens to fight in foreign wars aligned with the leadership’s objectives; during the Cold War, these were primarily anti-colonial struggles in African nations, such as Angola.

Additionally, due to the U.S. embargo, Cuba is heavily reliant on a few “friendly” nations to support its struggling economy. Under the military cooperation agreement ratified on Oct. 8, Russia will provide the energy-starved island nation with 1.64 million tons of petroleum annually.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——乌克兰关闭了其驻古巴大使馆，并谴责哈瓦那政府，原因是乌克兰指控这个加勒比独裁政权参与向俄罗斯派遣军队，参与对乌克兰的战争。

就在几周前，俄罗斯和古巴签署了军事合作协议，而美国公布的情报显示，可能有多达 5000 名古巴人在前线作战。

乌克兰外交部长安德烈·西比哈指责古巴允许“数千名”古巴公民前往俄罗斯，作为雇佣兵在乌克兰战争前线作战，从而“同谋”参与俄罗斯的侵略战争。古巴还向俄罗斯提供外交支持，并协助莫斯科规避西方制裁。古巴总统此前曾公开祝愿俄罗斯入侵乌克兰“取得成功”。

周三，美国宣布关闭大使馆并降低外交关系级别。与此同时，乌克兰首次对联合国一项年度决议投了反对票，该决议呼吁解除美国对古巴的严苛禁运。

“我们的投票并非反对古巴人民——我们尊重他们享有繁荣生活的权利。我们反对的是古巴当局对俄罗斯占领军大规模招募古巴公民不作为，”西比哈说。

在周三的投票前，乌克兰驻联合国大使安德烈·梅尔尼克称古巴国民是“俄罗斯军队中最大的外国雇佣兵群体”。

据路透社率先报道，一份于10月2日发往美国外交使团的非机密电报显示，美国估计可能有多达5000名古巴人在乌克兰作战。电报称，“继朝鲜之后，古巴是向俄罗斯侵略行动派遣外国军队的最大来源国。”

乌克兰情报部门报告称，已确认有39名古巴人在乌克兰战争中丧生，但实际伤亡人数估计在数百人左右。乌克兰军事情报机构HUR则确认，至少有1076名古巴战士在前线作战。

对此，古巴外交部于10月11日否认了有关古巴参与俄乌战争的指控，称这些报道是“虚假指控”，并表示“无可辩驳的是，这些指控都没有得到古巴国家的鼓励、支持或同意”。

目前尚不清楚古巴人被招募的组织程度如何。俄罗斯调查机构“Sistema”披露，两名俄罗斯女子——一名旅行社职员和一名理发师——利用虚假借口进行招募。据报道，她们承诺提供高薪的建筑工作——每月收入高达2000美元，相当于古巴平均工资的100倍——但古巴人在抵达俄罗斯后，护照会被没收，并被迫与俄罗斯军方签订合同。俄罗斯当局随后逮捕了这两名女子。

2023年9月，古巴当局宣布逮捕了17名涉嫌参与人口贩运网络的人员，该网络招募古巴人为俄罗斯作战。此后未有后续消息。

目前尚不清楚古巴政府在这一计划中扮演了何种角色，但考虑到古巴的极权主义性质以及其对公民实施的严格旅行管制，至少可以推断其在某种程度上参与其中。乌克兰常驻联合国代表梅尔尼克表示，此次招募活动是在“哈瓦那当局的默许下公开进行的”。

古巴和俄罗斯长期以来保持着友好关系，这源于两国在冷战期间建立的紧密联系。古巴政府也有派遣公民参与符合其领导层目标的海外战争的先例；在冷战期间，这些战争主要是在安哥拉等非洲国家进行的反殖民斗争。

此外，由于美国的禁运，古巴严重依赖少数几个“友好”国家来支撑其举步维艰的经济。根据10月8日批准的军事合作协议，俄罗斯将每年向这个能源匮乏的岛国提供164万吨石油。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。