It is known who recruited Cuban citizens for the war against Ukraine

An employee of the Russian Academy of Sciences was engaged in the recruitment of Cuban citizens for the war against Ukraine. They were invited to work on construction projects in the rear, but later they were given uniforms and contracts by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the Russian publication "Important Histories".

What preceded it

At the beginning of the month, the Cuban security forces announced that they had uncovered a recruitment network of mercenaries to participate in the war against Ukraine on the side of the Russian Federation.

"In this case, 17 residents of the island were detained: according to the agency, three of them participated in the recruitment scheme, - the remaining 14 people admitted that they voluntarily joined the ranks of mercenaries in exchange for Russian passports, payment for plane tickets and a monetary reward," - goes in the material.

The Cubans were promised that they would not be sent to the front

Some of the mercenaries admitted that they knew in advance about cooperation with the Russian army. However, they were promised that they would be used to work in the rear as construction workers.

"To dig fortifications or help rebuild cities. When in Russia we were handed uniforms and told to go to training, I understood that it was not about construction at all," said the mercenary.

As an excuse, the Cubans said that they had found a way to escape from Cuba.

The mercenaries also explained that they were interested in large, by Cuban standards, payments. However, the Cubans said that they allegedly did not want to kill anyone and die either.

Who recruited Cubans

Some Cubans told Cubanet that they corresponded about work with Volodymyr Shkunov, the administrator of Russia for Cubans group on Facebook.

"Important Histories" writes that Shkunov heads the Ulyanovsk regional branch of the Russian Friendship Society with Cuba, and is also listed as a leading researcher of the Volga branch of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a member of the Expert Council under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 29/09/2023