Thousands of Cuban recruits are believed to have entered Russia’s military through a mix of financial incentives, ideological appeals and deceptive job offers, raising questions about Havana’s possible role in supplying manpower for Moscow’s war.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Cuban nationals have become one of the largest foreign groups fighting for Russia in Ukraine, with estimates ranging from at least 5,000 recruits to as many as 20,000, according to findings that raise new questions about whether Havana is helping Moscow replenish its military ranks.
Public attention has frequently focused on North Korean personnel supporting Russia, but Cubans may represent a far larger and more established source of foreign manpower. Some reportedly joined for money or ideological reasons, while others said they were deceived with promises of civilian employment before being placed under Russian military command.
At least 54 Cubans had been identified by November as having died in Ukraine while wearing Russian uniforms.
A State Department cable obtained by Reuters in October estimated that Cuba had supplied at least 5,000 fighters serving under the Russian flag. Ukrainian intelligence has also reported that the number of Cubans entering the Russian military continues to grow.
Truth Hounds, a Kyiv-based organization examining Russia’s recruitment of foreign fighters, estimated that the true number could be closer to 20,000.
Russia is not a party to the United Nations Mercenary Convention, limiting the treaty’s direct application to Moscow. Cuba, however, has ratified the agreement and adopted its own broad legal definition of mercenary activity.
“As a non-party to the UN Mercenary Convention, Russia cannot be held legally accountable under that instrument for the use of mercenaries, even where individuals meet the Convention’s definition,” Truth Hounds said. “Among the states analyzed in the report, only Cuba has ratified the UN Mercenary Convention, and has adopted a domestic definition of ‘mercenarism’ that is much broader than that required by the Convention itself, potentially rendering many of the fighters recruited from Cuba subject to prosecution.”
Cuban authorities have announced several arrests connected to recruitment networks, but the limited number of cases stands in contrast to allegations involving thousands of Cuban fighters. That gap has fueled accusations that Havana is failing to meet its obligations under the international agreement.
Cuba has denied formally participating in Russia’s recruitment operation. Its history, however, includes decades of providing military personnel to support Soviet-backed governments and movements abroad.
Beginning in the 1970s, large numbers of Cuban troops were sent to Angola and Mozambique following their independence from Portugal in 1975. Cuban forces also fought in Ethiopia alongside troops loyal to communist leader Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam.
That history has led some analysts to view the flow of Cuban fighters into Russia as a continuation of Havana’s longstanding role as a military proxy for Moscow.
“We should consider Cuba to be a Russian surrogate. … For the Cuban government this is not a big deal. Since 1975, they’ve been sending their troops overseas by the tens of thousands to fight for the Russians, so 5,000 is nothing,” Cuba expert Mike Waller said. “They sent tens of thousands to Angola. They rotated thousands to communist Ethiopia and elsewhere. Probably the total is 100,000, and we don’t know what their losses were.
“So it’s part of the Cuban tradition of being a proxy.”
The Cubans serving in Ukraine are not generally private contractors operating outside state control. Most sign contracts placing them directly inside the Russian armed forces and under Russia’s military chain of command.
Those contracts can last one, three or five years. Recruits have reportedly been told that their families will receive approximately $54,000 if they are killed in combat.
The recruitment network began attracting wider scrutiny in 2023 after Ukrainian hackers affiliated with InformNapalm accessed the email account of a Russian major. Images found in the account contained passport information for 198 Cuban recruits.
Direct flights between Cuba and Moscow do not require Cuban travelers to obtain visas, making it easier to move recruits into Russia. Most Cubans cannot afford the airfare on their own, suggesting that travel expenses are frequently covered by Russian intermediaries, recruiters or another outside source.
Money appears to be the strongest incentive for many recruits. Cuban men have reportedly been offered approximately $2,000 per month, a dramatic increase over Cuba’s average monthly salary of about $16.
Russian messaging has portrayed the recruits as volunteers supporting Moscow’s objectives. One Russian propaganda channel said Cubans were joining to “help our country achieve the objectives of the special military operation,” adding that “some of them would like to become Russian citizens in the future.”
Other recruits were reportedly attracted by promises of Russian citizenship or civilian jobs. Some said they believed they were traveling to Russia for construction work or other employment and did not learn they had been recruited for war until after arriving.
“Cuban mercenaries who, one way or another, ended up in the Russian army can be divided into two categories,” Ukraine’s Current Time TV said. “The first category consists of people who were deceived and coerced into joining the Russian army. The second category, in fact, consists of people motivated either by money or ideological considerations.”
Frank Dario Yarossey Manfuga, a Cuban captured by Ukrainian forces, said he was promised construction work before being transported into Russian-controlled territory and compelled to serve.
“They put pressure on us. They told us we had to take up arms and shoot because the Ukrainians would kill us,” Manfuga said.
He said he traveled to Russia in January 2024 after receiving a job application through WhatsApp.
“They send you an application — you fill it out, then send a photo of your passport. It was impossible to tell whether the person I was talking to was Russian, Spanish, or Latin American,” Manfuga said.
After arriving in Russia, he was met by a Spaniard who showed him an image of his Cuban passport. The man then drove Manfuga and four other Cubans to Rostov, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, before leaving them at a warehouse.
They were later transported to Russian-occupied Donetsk and issued military equipment.
“There were four other Cubans there, only five with me. Even then, I began to understand what was happening,” Manfuga said. “They gave us helmets and military equipment. We refused. We started rebelling, saying, ‘We don’t want this, we didn’t come here for this, we don’t want to shoot! I’ve never had any military training. I don’t know how to use a gun.’”
Cubans sent to the front face some of the war’s deadliest conditions. In areas Ukrainian troops call “the kill zone,” newly deployed Russian soldiers may survive only about 20 minutes amid constant drone attacks, artillery fire and dangerous movement between exposed trenches.
Those who remain alive also endure severe living conditions, including rodent infestations that spread through food supplies, equipment and clothing.
Not all Cuban fighters claim they were deceived. Some openly support Russia’s war and have repeated Moscow’s claim that Ukraine is controlled by Nazis.
“I consider it the duty of every free person who hates the Nazis,” Cuban fighter Julio Pelaez wrote on social media.
Pelaez also posted an image of himself wearing military equipment marked with Russian “Z” symbols and a patch identifying Cuba.
The combination of willing recruits, financially motivated fighters and men allegedly forced into service has made the full scale of Cuban participation difficult to measure. The number of deaths is also likely incomplete because many recruits may not be publicly identified or officially acknowledged.
Havana’s limited enforcement actions have done little to resolve suspicions surrounding its involvement. With thousands of Cubans reportedly traveling to Russia, signing military contracts and entering combat, the flow of fighters has become an increasingly important source of manpower for Moscow’s prolonged war in Ukraine.
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