Russian government sources have elaborated on the significance of the delivery of 100,000 tons of Russian oil to Cuba in late March 2026, which directly challenged the U.S. Armed Forces’ blockade of the country, and marked the latest development in seven decades of strategic cooperation between Moscow and the Caribbean Island nation.
When the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked on March 30, Cuba had not received an oil shipment for three months, which had caused a crisis that crippled the country’s economy.
Oil shortages had caused 12-to-20-hour daily blackouts, and severe shortages of fuel, food, and medicine for the country’s 10 million people.
This disruption followed the U.S. assault on Venezuela in early January and abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which cut off Cuba’s primary oil supply.
With Russian officials having explicitly stated they were “breaking through the blockade,” the Kremlin said it could not remain indifferent to the suffering of the Cuban people under a U.S. blockade, and pledged to continue sending support.
Commenting on the significance of the operation, Cuban ambassador Juan Carlos Marsan Aguilera informed Russian state media: “After three months without oil, a Russian ship arrived in Cuba,” he said in the latest episode of India, Russia, and the World. “It was more than that, a message [to the world] that Russia would support Cuba at a critical moment.”
Russia was sending a broader message by backing Cuba “because the U.S. was threatening any country supplying oil with tariffs or [an] attack on ships,” the ambassador added.
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Analysts have widely assessed that Russia was better positioned to break the blockade due to the preoccupation of U.S. forces in conflict with Iran, with the suffering of multiple setbacks during the campaign making a rise in tensions with Russia appear highly unfavourable for Washington.
The Russian Navy has deployed long-range warships for operations near Cuba in the past, fuelling speculation that the U.S. may have been aware of the presence of nuclear powered attack submarines escorting the oil shipment to the country.
Such deployments gained considerable publicity in June 2024 when a flotilla led by the Yasen-M Class nuclear powered attack submarine Kazan, and the Gorshkov Class frigate Admiral Gorshkov, trained for long range strikes in the Atlantic while en route to Cuba.
Credit: https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-broke-navy-blockade-cuba
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