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Ukraine Reveals Up to 20,000 Cuban Mercenaries Recruited by Russia
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
More than a thousand Cubans have joined Russian forces in the war against Ukraine, and the total number of recruits could reach 20,000, according to Military.com on September 22.
The report, prepared by Miami Herald, cites Ukrainian intelligence officials who presented their findings during a briefing with Cuban American lawmakers in Washington.
Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, said his agency has confirmed the identities of more than 1,000 Cuban mercenaries already in Russian ranks.
He noted that “Cuba is ranked at the very top among the source countries for mercenaries,” adding that intelligence estimates suggest as many as 20,000 Cubans have been recruited. Ukrainian officials also reported that at least 39 Cubans have been killed in the fighting.
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According to Military.com, documents hacked in 2023 indicated that Russian officers were involved in efforts to enlist Cubans for military service. At the time, Cuban authorities announced arrests linked to a trafficking ring but later stopped releasing information.
Yusov stated that many contracts were signed after Cuba claimed to have dismantled the network, suggesting official complicity. “Taking into account the totalitarian nature of the Cuban regime, such recruitment could not have taken place without the blessing of the Cuban regime,” he said.
Ukrainian parliamentarian Maryan Zablotskyy said one of the Russian officers managing recruitment was based in Cuba. He presented passport and contract documents from January 2025 showing the first confirmed case of a Cuban woman enlisting to fight against Ukraine.
Zablotskyy also revealed the identity of a Cuban mercenary currently detained in Kyiv, highlighting his frequent travel to Moscow as evidence of state-level involvement.
The briefing, reported by Military.com, was hosted by US Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar, and Carlos Giménez, alongside human rights advocate Rosa María Payá.
The lawmakers pledged to work with Ukrainian officials to pressure Cuba and Russia through sanctions and urged the European Union to reconsider its cooperation with Havana.
Ukrainian officials also presented letters from Cuban mercenaries complaining about not being discharged after their contracts expired, and documents linking Russian recruiters to cases of fraud involving salaries intended for Cuban fighters.
According to Military.com, the primary motivation for Cubans to enlist is financial. Russian contracts promise $2,000 per month, compared to Cuba’s average state salary of roughly $15.
Ukrainian officials noted that the average age of the recruits is 35, an age group more likely to be raising families rather than joining foreign wars.
Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign relations committee, said that countries enabling Russian recruitment should be treated as accomplices to war crimes.
Presidential adviser Vladyslav Vlasyuk suggested the United States consider secondary sanctions on governments such as Cuba and North Korea, both listed as state sponsors of terrorism.
Earlier, the ATESH partisan movement reported that Russia was using children from the Yunarmiya youth organization as human shields to protect a training camp for African and Cuban mercenaries in occupied Crimea.
