On Saturday, Cuba denied US allegations of its involvement in the ongoing war in Ukraine or sending military forces there.

A statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Cuba “rejects the false accusations promoted by the United States government regarding Cuba’s alleged involvement in the military conflict in Ukraine.”

The statement added that since September 2023, 26 Cubans have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 5 to 14 years for working as mercenaries, following reports of Cubans being sent to the front lines in Ukraine.

A US State Department spokesperson told AFP earlier this week that the US “is aware of reports that Cuban nationals are fighting alongside Russian forces in the Russia-Ukraine war.”

He added, “The Cuban regime has failed to protect its citizens from being used as pawns” in this war.

In May, a Ukrainian government initiative encouraging enemy fighters to surrender confirmed it had data on more than a thousand Cuban mercenaries recruited by Russia since early 2023.

The “I Want to Live” initiative revealed it reliably knows the names and personal details of 1,028 Cubans who signed contracts with the Russian armed forces between 2023 and 2024.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry statement indicated that Havana “does not have accurate information about Cuban citizens” participating “independently” in the forces of either Russia or Ukraine.

It confirmed that “none of them received encouragement, commitment, or approval from the Cuban state for their actions.”

Cubans told AFP that relatives who left for Russia in 2023 were misled through social media advertisements.