The fresh new Facebook membership of many men whoever names and you can photographs meets the latest passports seen by-time imply that they rapidly ended up selling ramshackle properties and leftover their girlfriends, spouses, and you will young children to go away having Russia. The newest recruits’ personal-media accounts emphasize the newest adversity of the resides in Cuba, with listings asking to have treatments and promoting anything from phone bits to rationed beef into black-market sites. “Toward currency it is possible to spend me personally,” one to Cuban people told you inside the a video clip into the WhatsApp handled so you’re able to Russian recruiters, “if the I’m murdered or perhaps not, at least I’ll be in a position to let my family.”
On the months you to definitely then followed, a blast of Cuban recruits started to get to Tula, with regards to the hacked documents
“My dad visited Angola,” one to young buck penned during the an extended need regarding their choice, referencing Cuba’s deployment in excess of 50,000 “volunteers” to help you Angola and Ethiopia off 1975 so you’re able to 1991 to battle for the Soviet-backed wars. “All my personal male forefathers had been in some battle and i need to check out them…I’m sure the thought of cannon fodder and that i you should never proper care.”
For the July step 1, Russian flight Aeroflot began operating lead aircraft regarding Cuban coastline town of Varadero so you’re able to Moscow. “We have fourteen some body on options part,” Maj. Anton Valentinovich Perevozchikov, good Russian military administrator around from Tula, wrote for the a message to the July 18. “Passport translations are urgently expected.” This new circulate appeared to continue for at the least 1 month. “ten more people are arriving to see myself now,” brand new manager composed into Aug. 18. (Perevozchikov did not address TIME’s obtain opinion.)
When you look at the clips distributed to Cuban mass media, recruits film by themselves within a military feet that have the minds shaved by the Russian soldiers
These types of characters and attached documents was basically towards Sept. 5 because of the good Ukrainian activist hacker category titled “Cyber Opposition UA,” which has including taken responsibility towards the current leaks of hacked emails from Russian political figures. “The latest Cuban regulators is wanting so you can abdicate duty having sending their customers so you’re able to conflict against Ukraine,” the brand new hacker class blogged on the Telegram adopting the Cuban government generated the human-trafficking allegation. “We’re going to ‘help’ the newest Cuban government to keep in mind the challenge and you may publish the passports regarding 2 hundred mercenaries.”
Time were able to suits about 20 brands to your passports in order to public-media users. Some of the photographs are pictures of the Russian migration notes, which county the reason for going to the country as the “tourism.” Every arrivals appear to have flown to your Sheremetyevo International Airport within the Moscow, in which several reported becoming welcomed by the Cuban soldiers. In one single photos viewed by time, previous arrivals pose for a great selfie in the airport having a great fellow Cuban wearing a military consistent towards Russian flag plot, providing good thumbs-upwards signal.
The latest recruits don’t cover up its tips, as a whole you are going to predict when they was basically part of a keen undercover program otherwise “trafficking” process. Specific altered their Facebook location to “staying in Moscow” and you can printed frequent photos that have landmarks and you can army technology. Half a dozen pictures provided for friends and you may viewed by the Day tell you Cuban recruits posing inside the barracks otherwise carrying firearms. In one, Pedro Soto Hernandez, whoever passport makes reference to him as a 59-year-dated indigenous out-of Granma, presents into the a Russian armed forces uniform, blinking a peace signal towards the caption “por la madre patria.” (“On motherland.”) One to recruit’s sibling advised Go out she spoke so you can their own nephew almost each day, and this he had been still learning Russia.
However, following the recruits’ deployment to Ukraine, the majority of the fresh correspondence appeared to cease, causing mislead and regularly desperate texts from family and friends back home. “Now i need a number where I could reach my brother,” a woman called Yanisleydy Hernandez posted with the July 6. “The guy enrolled regarding the [Russian] Army.” Several recruits told Cuban mass media you to their mobile phones have been recinded of the Russian pushes when they had been implemented, mentioning security issues about becoming recognized because of the drones. Into the good July 30 blog post released when you look at the Cuban groups on Twitter, a private guy said he was incapable of come to his pal inside Russia find beautiful Uzbekistani women for marriage to tell your their sis got died back home. “Please, cubanos, do not be fooled of the this type of untrue claims,” the man wrote. “The trouble within the Cuba is actually crappy, but going to a conflict is not a [better] solution.”