The Cuban government is directly involved in Russia's war against Ukraine by providing thousands of Cuban mercenaries, making the communist island nation one of the largest foreign sources of troops for the Kremlin, Ukrainian intelligence officials told South Florida's Cuban-American members of Congress.
At least 20,000 foreigners — including Cubans — are currently fighting for Russia, said Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for military intelligence through a translator, Maryan Zablotskyy, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and chair of its Free Cuba Caucus.
The Ukrainian officials shared their findings Thursday in a congressional briefing in Washington. The three Republican lawmakers in attendance: U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar and U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez.
"Unfortunately, a lot of them are from Cuba," he said. "Cuba is ranked at the very top among the total number of source countries for mercenaries."
Yusov said thousands of Cubans have been recruited to fight for Russia.
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From June 2023 to February 2024, said Yusov, Ukrainian intelligence officials have identified more than 1,000 Cuban mercenaries who signed contracts to fight for Russia.
He said those who signed up did so because of the financial incentives, noting the average monthly salary is $2,000, a significant amount given the low wages and salaries offered in Cuba.
Yusov said foreign fighters from Cuba are, on average, 35 years old and die, on average, within 140 to 150 days of signing their contracts with Russia.
He added Russia benefits from using foreign fighters because "if a foreigner dies, there are no social payouts and no responsibility ... there are no relatives inside Russia who are unhappy with the war."
"And of course less dead Russians," Yusov said.
Role of Cuban regime
Yusov alleged the scale of recruitment of Cuban mercenaries could not happen without the direct complicity of the Cuban government.
"Taking into account the totalitarian nature of Cuban regimes, such recruitment could not have taken part without the blessing of the Cuban regime," Yusov said.
He also added many recruits are victims of fraud, with some being held even after their contracts expire.
Zablotskyy shared Ukrainian military intelligence documents that purport to show official letters from Cuban relatives to Russian authorities, seeking information on their missing or deceased family members.
One letter from a woman named Paola Bermudez Sabugo pleads for information on her husband who disappeared in January 2025, lamenting Russia “will not pay her anything and neither will the Cuban government as unfortunately he's both missing in action, not even formally dead."
He also shared a contract for Gladys Garcia, a Cuban woman, showing the recruitment is not limited to men.
Zablotskyy also produced a court document that revealed a Russian recruiter, Elena Smirnova, admitted to embezzling the salaries of hundreds of Cuban mercenaries. In exchange for leniency, she offered to recruit up to 7,000 more Cubans for Russia.
Cuban government officials have issued contradictory statements about its role in supporting Russia's war against Ukraine.
Two years ago, the Reuters news agency reported that Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected its citizens being used as mercenaries. The same day, however, Cuba's ambassador in Moscow said his government "did not oppose the legal participation of its citizens in Russia´s war in Ukraine," according to Reuters.
A call for action
The Ukrainian delegation is calling on its U.S. and European partners to take stronger action against the Cuban regime.
Alexander Merezhko, chairman of Ukraine's Foreign Relations Committee, described the Cuban regime as the “major arm” of the “Russian terrorist regime in Latin America" and part of a "coalition of authoritarian and even totalitarian regimes fighting against Ukraine."
He predicted that Russia's defeat in Ukraine would lead to the downfall of the Cuban government and liberate the Cuban people.
Merezhko said the Ukrainian delegation plans to propose a resolution to the Council of Europe to designate the Cuban regime as a terrorist state, similar to Russia's recent designation.
Congressman Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, who led the U.S. congressional briefing, said "many European states continue to help fund the Castro regime" through credit extensions and debt forgiveness.
"Our European friends are helping to fund Putin's strongest ally in the western hemisphere," he said.
He later posted on X that the intelligence shared by Ukrainian officials in Thursday's briefing "underscores the malign alliance between Russia and Cuba and highlights Russia’s dangerous reach in the Western Hemisphere, which has serious implications for U.S. and regional security."
Salazar, posting on X, wrote that "the Cuban dictatorship has always gotten rich by treating their people as commodities, first doctors, now soldiers. They must be stopped!"
"Ukrainian intelligence confirmed to us that thousands of young Cubans are being forced to fight for Russia," she wrote. "Given Putin’s desire to hire “expendable” soldiers, the Regime is making MILLIONS by sending their own youth to an early grave."
Thursday's briefing was moderated by Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, national secretary of the Cuban human rights organization El Directorio Democrático Cubano.
