Cuba has been a close ally of Russia since the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Álvaro López Miera, the head of Cuba’s Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, visited Moscow in June. He was received by his Russian counterpart, Sergei K. Shoigu, who said that Cuba was Russia’s “most important ally” in the Caribbean. About 70,000 Russian tourists visited Cuba in the first half of 2023, according to Russian state media, and about 11,000 Cubans visited Russia in 2022, according to the Russian Association of Tour Operators. It is not the first time that a country has claimed that its citizens were being recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

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Persons: Elena Shuvalova, Álvaro López Miera, Sergei K, Shoigu, Russia’s, ”, ” Mr, Ukraine ” Organizations: Moscow Times, Russian Army, Cuban Foreign Ministry, Cuba’s Ministry, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Tass, Russian Association of Tour Locations: Moscow, Cuba, Russia, Cuban, Caribbean, Ukraine, Russian, Kostanay, Kazakhstan, Kazakh