The project "I Want to Live" of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine revealed a list of Cuban mercenaries in the Russian army, whom the enemy is using in the war against Ukraine.
The full list of mercenaries was published on the project's Telegram channel.
According to "I Want to Live," Russia has been actively recruiting mercenaries from Cuba since the beginning of 2023: "Cubans, along with Sri Lankans, Nepalese, and people from Central Asian countries, make up the backbone of the mercenary forces used against Ukraine."
Project specialists have identified the names and personal data of 1,028 Cubans who signed contracts with the Russian Armed Forces in 2023-2024.
"The fact that the Cuban authorities are aware of the mass recruitment and patronize it, wrote a well-known representative of the Cuban resistance, researcher Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat. After a wide public outcry, in 2023, 17 people were detained in Cuba, accused of recruiting citizens of the country to participate in the war against Ukraine. The Cuban prosecutor then stated that the suspects could face up to 30 years in prison, up to life imprisonment or the death penalty, - writes in "I Want to Live". - Unfortunately, since then the number of recruited Cubans has increased several times. According to our data, about 20 thousand (!) more Cuban citizens have become victims of Russian recruiters."
For recruitment, the Russian Federation uses the traditional scheme: bribe, deceive, coerce.
"Mercenaries are offered work in Russia as handymen, construction workers, in warehouses, security, etc. The average salary in Cuba is $32-35 per month, so when Cubans are offered "easy work in fraternal Russia" with a monthly salary of $2-2.5 thousand, many without a second thought sign contract documents in Russian," the report specifies.
One of the captured Cuban mercenaries said that he only realized what he had signed up for when they started giving him helmets and body armor at the Rostov military base. After he tried to refuse, he was beaten and sent to the attack aircraft.
However, the Russian occupation army continues to suffer losses . An updated summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shows that losses among Russian personnel amounted to 1,430 soldiers per day.