The Cuba government has “categorically” denied that it has sent soldiers to fight on the side of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine and reminded that justice in the country is severely punishable by “mercenaries”.

“The Cuban Republic rejects the false accusations by the US government over Cuba’s alleged involvement in the military conflict in Ukraine,” the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Cuba “is not involved in the armed conflict in Ukraine, neither participates with its military nor there, nor in any other country,” Havana continues.

In September 2023, following press reports, the Cuba government spoke of a criminal circuit, which were suspicious of recruiting people on the island to participate in the War in Ukraine, and announced the arrest of 17 people.

The Foreign Ministry said yesterday that since then, 26 people have been convicted of serving sentences from five years in prison to 14 years in prison for “the offense of participating in payroll activity”.

“We are aware of the information that Cuban nationals are fighting on the side of Russian troops in the Russian-Ukraine war. The Cuban regime fails to protect its citizens from using them as pionia in the Russian-Ukraine war, “a State Department spokesman told the French Agency.

According to the Ukrainian government initiative that has been baptized “I want to live”, Russia has been recruiting Cubans from 2023.

“We know with certainty the names and personal details of 1,028 Cubans who signed contracts with the Russian Armed Forces in 2023 – 2024”, during this initiative.

For his part, the Cuban Foreign Minister oppose that the authorities “have no specific information about Cuban nationals” involved or involved “own” in the war on the side of the armed forces of one side or the other.

In any case, “it is undeniable that none of them benefited from the support” or the “Cuban state’s consensus” for it, said Cuban diplomacy.

In September 2023, a midfielder in Miami highlighted the case of two Cubans, 19 years old, who said they were cheated via Facebook and went to work as builders in Russian army construction projects in Ukraine but were sent to fight.

The French Agency reports that it contacted two Cubans in Havana, who did not want to provide their details, but they confirmed that they were proposed to sign a contract that provided that they would go to constructions on behalf of the Russian army in return.