Cuba "Categorically Rejects" Involvement in Ukraine

Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) has released a statement that "categorically rejects" it is involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine, describing accusations that Cuba is sending troops to support Russia as "slanderous."
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​Reuters has reported that the U.S. State Department is directing its diplomats to lobby against Cuba’s upcoming resolution at the UN condemning the U.S. embargo on Cuba by claiming the island is supporting Russia in the Ukraine war, with allegedly 5,000 troops fighting on the ground. The figure seems to stem from Ukrainian intelligence services.

Cuban-American hardliners had already seized on the allegations of "Cuban regime troops" fighting in Ukraine, organizing a national security briefing in Congress last month that featured members of Ukraine's government and intelligence services.

Ukraine is, needless to say, a major U.S. ally whose intelligence services work closely with U.S. intelligence agencies. The charges that Cuba is sending troops to Ukraine mirror those made several years earlier that Cuba was sending troops to Venezuela (see above). Both serve the purpose of isolating Cuba and justifying the U.S. government's policy of economic warfare on the island.

There are Cubans fighting in the Ukraine war, although their actual numbers have not been independently verified. Some of these Cubans say they were manipulated into joining the war through promises of Russian passports.

But no credible evidence has surfaced that the Cuban government is encouraging or facilitating its citizens to join the Russian military.

According to MINREX, the Cuban government "maintains a zero-tolerance policy" toward mercenary activities in other countries, and has taken steps to "neutralize recruitment" in Cuba. Since 2023, Cuban courts have found 26 people guilty of mercenarism in Ukraine, with sentences ranging from five to 14 years in prison.