MIAMI, Sept. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance released today in Miami a statement it has received from 30 deputies of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (parliament) condemning the military support allegedly provided by the communist regime in Cuba to the Russian invasion of their homeland. Among the signatories are deputies Olena Shulyak (Leader of the Servant of the People party), Oleksandr Merezhko (Chairman of the Rada's Committee on Foreign Relations), and Maryan Zablotskiy.
"We, people's deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, are deeply concerned about the presence and participation of forces and mercenaries loyal to the dictatorship in the Republic of Cuba in the genocidal invasion of the territory of Ukraine," the statement from the members of the Rada reads. "The military component of the cooperation of the Republic of Cuba with the Putin regime is a clear signal to the free world about the threat posed by the regime in Havana today."
The deputies' statement comes following news that approximately 1,000 Cubans have traveled to Russia, some knowing what they were going into, others not. Despite the Havana regime's claim that these Cubans were trafficked abroad, the Ukrainian government has hacked into Russian government databases confirming the means of travel and identities of those Cubans sent to Russia. This is an addition to the established presence of Cuban Black Berets (special paramilitary forces) receiving special training in Belarus and regular Cuban armed forces fighting for the Russian military in Ukraine.
In response to the involvement of Cuban citizens in the invasion of their country, deputies of the Rada have called on the regime in Havana to immediately cease its support for the Russian Federation. In the statement, they also "call on the international community, the European Union and the Paris Club to take all possible response measures aimed at ending economic cooperation with the regime in Havana, in particular, funding from European institutions."
"We commend and thank the deputies of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada for standing up and calling out this flagrant attack on their nation by the communist regime in Havana," said Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, Coordinator of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance who received the statement. "As a Cuban who is in constant contact with ordinary Cubans, my heart breaks knowing that our young soldiers are participating in the evil and destructive conflict that has claimed the lives of so many innocent Ukrainians. In particular, for those doing so against their will. I join the deputies in their call for the regime in Havana to withdraw from the conflict and for institutions like the EU and the Club of Paris to immediately cease their financial support of the regime."
The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance echoes a call from the deputies of the Rada to those Cubans fighting in Ukraine to return home and fight for freedoms in their own country.
About the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance:
The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance is a parliament in exile, comprised of a host of non-governmental organizations working together to bring freedom to the oppressed people of Cuba.
Contact: Silvia Gutiérrez-Boronat, Directorio Democratico, silvia@directorio.org, 786-287-0775
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