The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed the identities of over a thousand Cubans who signed contracts with the Russian military, according to Andriy Chernyak from the Ukraine’s military intelligence speaking to Donbas Realii (a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty project). He noted that the actual number of Cubans is likely much higher.
“We don’t view Cuban mercenaries as a separate military force capable of influencing the battlefield. Overall, the number could be around 10, 12, 15 thousand. It’s a small group of people who were either deceived or coerced into signing contracts,” said Chernyak.
The Main Intelligence Directorate believes that Russia sees Cuba as part of its geopolitical sphere of interest, so recruiting Cubans into the Russian army serves more of a propaganda purpose than a military one.
“They use this on the political stage, for domestic audiences. They try to show that Russia is not the aggressor, and that other countries of the so-called civilized world also support Russia’s ideas and plans,” Chernyak added.
The Cuban mercenary case illustrates that Russian activity disguised as “cultural cooperation” in Global South countries is part of a deliberate campaign to expand geopolitical influence and recruit fighters, adds Center for Countering Disinformation
By recruiting mercenaries from other countries, Russia typically uses disinformation, promising candidates high pay, Russian citizenship, and “easy” service—which in reality is largely false.
Recruiting mercenaries from the Global South is one way the Kremlin seeks to compensate for massive losses on the frontlines.
