Russian cargo plane arrives in Cuba, echoing frantic Caracas buildup

GRAZ, Austria — A heavy Russian cargo plane that previously brought air defense systems to Venezuela arrived at a military airfield near Havana, Cuba’s capital, late on Sunday, flight records seen by Defense News show.

The Ilyushin Il-76, operated by the Russian government-affiliated airline Aviacon Zitotrans, made several stops on its way to Cuba, including in the Dominican Republic, Mauritania, and Algeria, after departing from St. Petersburg by way of Sochi, Russia, in late January. It landed at the San Antonio de los Baños Air Base in Cuba, about 50 kilometers south of Havana, on Sunday evening local time.

The same aircraft, registered RA-78765, flew to Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba in late October 2025 amid brewing tensions between Caracas and Washington. After the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela on Jan. 3, Cuba has increasingly found itself in the crosshairs of U.S. President Donald Trump. The pressure intensified on Jan. 29, when Trump issued an executive order declaring Cuba a “national emergency” and imposing tariffs on any country supplying Cuba with oil unless Havana aligns with U.S. national security and foreign policy.

An Il-76 can transport up to 50 tons of cargo or up to 200 people. Aircraft of this type are known to have delivered small arms, military supplies and even mercenaries on Russia’s behalf in the past. Aviacon Zitotrans is well-documented as flying military cargo and has been sanctioned by multiple countries for these activities. The U.S., Canada and Ukraine have all sanctioned the company for its role in supporting Russia’s military adventures.

“Aviacon Zitotrans has shipped military equipment such as rockets, warheads, and helicopter parts all over the world,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in January 2023, when it added the company to the American sanctions list. “Aviacon Zitotrans has shipped defense materiel to Venezuela, Africa, and other locations,” the agency continued. It has also been involved in exporting Russian-made weapons to buyers globally for the state-owned company Rosoboronexport.

It is unclear what cargo the aircraft is carrying on its current journey. When the same aircraft flew to Venezuela in advance of the U.S. strikes, it delivered Pantsir-S1 short-range and Buk-M2E medium-range air defense systems to Caracas, according to Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev and Russian state-owned media . Dimensions and weight of both systems make this plausible, although the Buk would likely have to be disassembled due to its height.

The Il-76’s current mission has striking similarities to its earlier flight to Venezuela, including several stops along the way in northern Africa and the backdrop of rapidly rising geopolitical tensions surrounding a Russian-aligned country in Latin America.

In Venezuela, Russian-made air defenses failed to protect against the U.S. raid that captured strongman president Nicolás Maduro, which experts have attributed to user error, lack of preparation and overwhelming U.S. capabilities.

Russia and Cuba signed and ratified a new military cooperation agreement in March 2025, which established the legal framework for joint military operations, training exercises, the exchange of military specialists, consultations, and the supply of military equipment.

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.

奥地利格拉茨——据《防务新闻》看到的飞行记录显示，一架此前曾向委内瑞拉运送防空系统的俄罗斯重型运输机于周日晚些时候抵达古巴首都哈瓦那附近的一个军用机场。

这架由俄罗斯政府附属航空公司Aviacon Zitotrans运营的伊尔-76飞机，于1月下旬从圣彼得堡经俄罗斯索契起飞，飞往古巴，途中经停多米尼加共和国、毛里塔尼亚和阿尔及利亚等地。当地时间周日晚间，飞机降落在古巴圣安东尼奥德洛斯巴尼奥斯空军基地，该基地位于哈瓦那以南约50公里处。

同一架注册号为RA-78765的飞机于2025年10月下旬飞往委内瑞拉、尼加拉瓜和古巴，当时加拉加斯和华盛顿之间的紧张局势正在加剧。自1月3日美国军事干预委内瑞拉以来，古巴日益成为美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的重点关注对象。1月29日，特朗普发布行政命令，宣布古巴进入“国家紧急状态”，并对任何向古巴供应石油的国家征收关税，除非哈瓦那与美国的国家安全和外交政策保持一致，此举进一步加剧了古巴面临的压力。

一架伊尔-76运输机最多可运载50吨货物或200人。据悉，此类飞机过去曾代表俄罗斯运送小型武器、军需品，甚至雇佣兵。Aviacon Zitotrans公司从事军用货物运输活动，并因此受到多个国家的制裁。美国、加拿大和乌克兰均已对该公司实施制裁，原因是其支持俄罗斯的军事行动。

美国财政部在2023年1月将Aviacon Zitotrans公司列入美国制裁名单时表示：“Aviacon Zitotrans公司向世界各地运送了火箭、弹头和直升机零部件等军事装备。”该机构还指出：“Aviacon Zitotrans公司向委内瑞拉、非洲和其他地区运送了国防物资。”此外，该公司还参与了俄罗斯国有企业俄罗斯国防出口公司（Rosoboronexport）向全球买家出口俄罗斯制造的武器。

目前尚不清楚这架飞机此次航程携带了哪些货物。据俄罗斯议员阿列克谢·茹拉夫列夫和俄罗斯官方媒体报道，这架飞机曾在美军空袭前飞往委内瑞拉，向加拉加斯运送了“铠甲-S1”近程防空系统和“山毛榉-M2E”中程防空系统。这两种系统的尺寸和重量都符合这一推测，但“山毛榉”由于其高度，可能需要拆卸后才能运送。

伊尔-76 目前的飞行任务与它之前飞往委内瑞拉的任务有着惊人的相似之处，包括沿途在北非的几次停留，以及围绕拉丁美洲一个与俄罗斯结盟的国家的地缘政治紧张局势迅速升级的背景。

在委内瑞拉，俄罗斯制造的防空系统未能阻止美国突袭并抓获强人总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗，专家们将此归咎于用户失误、准备不足以及美国压倒性的军事实力。

2025年3月，俄罗斯和古巴签署并批准了一项新的军事合作协议，该协议为联合军事行动、训练演习、军事专家交流、磋商和军事装备供应建立了法律框架。

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。