Russia has been using Cuban mercenaries since 2023, but it has stepped up their use in recent months. Cuban soldiers are familiar with the weapons, trained and paid cheaply, reducing Putin’s political cost to Putin to zero. No one in Moscow complains about the deaths of foreign soldiers.
The allegations of Cuban mercenaries fighting for Russia in Ukraine may sound new, but for Cuba, this kind of involvement is business as usual. In 1963, Cuba sent soldiers to Algeria to participate in a conflict with Morocco. That year, Cuba irregularly established compulsory military service, which would be formalized and strengthened in 1973.
Another mechanism used by Cuba has been medical brigades, which, while providing health services, also had a dual function in military intelligence advisory services. Finally, in the 21st century, Cuba has sent troops to countries like Venezuela to provide intelligence and law enforcement services.
Cuba has maintained the use of military force as a valuable asset to exports its ideology to countries like Angola, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Grenada, El Salvador, Bolivia, Venezuela and many more.
In those days, the regime always manifested that this was part of its ideological “solidarity” to help other countries in the fight for “freedom.” What is happening now in Ukraine is a new phase of a traditional operation. This time it is all about money and political survival.
In 2025, Cuba is taking things to the next level. According to a report by CBS news the number of Cuban mercenaries sent to Ukraine are on the rise, reaching as many as 20,000 soldiers. The trend shows that Cuba could even surpass the number of troops coming from North Korea or failed states in African nations.
The young Cubans enlisted in the Russian troops believed in the promises of money and well-being for their families in the island but have instead found only death, deception and dishonor.
The Russian regime takes advantage of the need and desperation experienced in Cuba and other countries. The offer includes $2,000 a month, Russian citizenship and 15 days of vacation every six months. This is an attractive promise that Putin has only half-fulfilled, generating desertions and discontent.
After the failed rebellion by Wagner mercenaries, Putin has returned and relied on Cuba for more highly trained soldiers to continue his war of aggression against Ukraine.
According to Prisoners Defenders, Russia and Cuba have reached an agreement that allow the dictatorship to hold between 75 and 95 percent of the soldiers’ income. Yes, the same scheme used in the infamous medical brigades.
The Cuban regime claims they are “not part of the armed conflict in Ukraine (the Russian invasion), nor is it participating with military personnel there or in any other country,” and that its officials “do not have accurate information about Cuban nationals who, on their own, have participated or are participating in the military forces of both sides in the war”
According to the Cuban authorities, from 2023 to 2025, only nine cases for the crime of mercenary-ism were brought before Cuban courts against 40 defendants. The judicial authorities only handed down convictions against 26 of them.
Cuban law maintains a prohibition over the use of mercenaries. According to Article 135 of the new Cuban Penal Code, any person who engages in military activities in foreign territory for personal benefit will be punished with sentences of 20 to 30 years, life imprisonment and even capital punishment. Similar legislation is established in the Russian system but each country implements it according to its own interests and discretion.
The presence of Cuban mercenaries among the Russian troops ratifies and reflects that Moscow lacks the morale and manpower to win the war on its own. What was supposed to be a brief special military operation has become a grinding, never-ending war.
The participation of thousands of Cuban mercenaries in the war against Ukraine exposes the desperation, criminalization and cowardice of the Cuban regime and its failed revolution. This is another crime against humanity that deserves not only criticism but also condemnation by the international community.
The violations of human rights of many Cuban soldiers, some of them only 17 years old, is also something for which Cuba must be held accountable. The brutal abuses and deception against young Cubans have been widely reported . The Cuban regime simply claims to be unaware of this scandalous situation.
The international community must speak out against what is happening with Cubans in the context of a war against a sovereign country like Ukraine. This cannot be another crime that goes unpunished.
Arturo McFields is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States, and a former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps. He is an alumnus of the National Defense University’s Security and Defense Seminar and the Harvard Leadership course.
