Russia recruited up to 15,000 Cubans for war against Ukraine: Intelligence reveals Kremlin’s real motive
Ukrainian military intelligence says the Kremlin is using thousands of foreign mercenaries primarily as a propaganda tool to demonstrate what it portrays as international support for its aggression.
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Cuban mercenaries
Russia has recruited up to 15,000 Cuban citizens to fight against Ukraine. But the main objective of these actions is not military, but propagandistic.
This was stated in a comment to Donbas Realii by Andrii Cherniak, a representative of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence.
The intelligence official says Ukraine does not view Cuban mercenaries recruited by Russia as a separate military force on the battlefield.
"Overall, this figure may be around 10, 12, 15 thousand. This is a small number of people who were forced to sign contracts through deception or other means," he added.
According to Cherniak, Russia primarily views Cuba as a zone of its geopolitical interests. The recruitment of Cubans is used mainly for propaganda purposes.
"They use this in the political arena, for domestic audiences. They are trying to show that Russia is not an aggressor, and that other countries, so-called civilized world countries, also support Russia’s ideas and plans," the intelligence representative said.