Young Cubans Andorf Velázquez García and Alex Vegas Díaz condemn their actions Tricked into Russia as a recruit for the invasion of UkraineThey warned that they were forcibly removed from their hospitals after being tortured and taken to military units.
“They’re trying to get us out of here as quickly as possible because we’re scared”They said in a video call published by the American media “América Tevé” on Friday that the call took place on the bus they were transported to the city of Ryazan with Russian soldiers.
“We don’t sleep, we can’t sleep because we don’t know if they’re going to come and do something to us while we’re sleeping,” said a young man in the video.
both Allegedly beaten by at least three Russian soldierswho let them hold it, because of the simple fact of trying to communicate in English.
“They took all our clothes and beat us. Since we couldn’t understand each other, we spoke to them in English, that’s why they told us that the Americans sent us and we should confess,” they said.
Vegas Diaz suffers from systemic arthritis, while Velázquez García has only one kidney, the report said.
Other accused Cuban conscripts send their testimony via video to América Tevé, although he did not reveal his identity. One of the people said he was taken to a so-called school with about 18 other Cubans, where they underwent medical examinations and other procedures.
That same week, relatives of young people who denounced their situation to Russia sent a plea to Russia to help them return safely to Cuba.
In a statement released this week, Vegas Diaz and Velazquez Garcia denounce them as victims of a ‘scam’ They were hospitalized in a Russian city, had their papers confiscated and were barred from returning to the island.
The mother of one of the young men denounced that, in Cuba, “the cellphones of a certain Elena and a certain Dayana, I think one is Cuban and the other is Russian. The boy communicated with them. .They read him a document in which they wrote all the benefits they would receive. I read that document too. Just for this, work, never in Ukraine. They just asked the boy if he had a passport. Two days later, they called him and told him to go to Varadero airport,” he said.
Two young Cuban men held in a Russian hospital assured that they had signed a contract, allegedly to carry out construction work.
“They told us (we were going) to build, to restore houses that had been destroyed by war, trenches and rubble. It’s all a scam. They didn’t pay us, we didn’t have passports, we didn’t have documents. Once we got here they kept everything. “both denounced YouTuber Alain Papparazi Cubano.
“When the boy went to military preparations, he fell ill. They took him to a hospital in Moscow, where he developed gastritis. They did a larger test, but there were no other results, but we were desperate, Because we don’t know about him,” the mother added.
America Turvey also showed chats with Elena, a Russian recruiter who handled the paperwork for the youth’s travel. The person denied the Cubans’ allegations but did not clarify their situation in Russia.
May 16, Vladimir Putin announced he would grant clear Russian citizenship to foreigners who joined the Russian army during the war in Ukrainethe measure may also benefit immediate family members of conscripts.
expert criticism One of Russia’s main strategies is to use these troops as cannon fodderbecause in most cases many of them did not receive the necessary military training, but were used to drain the strength of the Ukrainian army.
Cubans have been taking advantage of the fact that Russia does not require visas to immigrate to Russia for years. However, most seek to continue on to Europe, to countries such as Spain and Italy, where obtaining residency is very complicated for foreigners.