Russia Pledges to Keep Cuba Lifeline Open
"We will continue to provide humanitarian aid to our Cuban friends during this difficult period," Zakharova said in a press briefing.
The announcement follows a late March delivery of 100,000 tons of Russian crude to the Caribbean island, which has been battered by chronic fuel shortages and widespread power outages since Washington intensified its longstanding trade embargo into an outright oil blockade late last year. Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev has since confirmed that a second tanker is already en route.
Cuba's energy crisis deepened significantly after Venezuela — once the island's primary crude supplier — halted shipments under mounting pressure from Washington. The resulting deficit has plunged the nation into rolling nationwide blackouts and acute fuel scarcity.
US President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive posture toward Havana, signaling intentions to "take" Cuba "one way or another" and threatening punitive tariffs on any country exporting oil to the island. Yet his tone shifted notably last month, when — after a Russian tanker successfully circumvented the blockade — he told reporters that Washington doesn't "mind having somebody get a boat load" into the island, as "they need to survive."
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has laid bare the scale of his nation's energy dependency, stating that the island imports between 40–60% of the seven million tons of fossil fuels it requires annually. In a Wednesday interview with journalist Breno Altman in Havana, he warned that the blockade has had a "tremendous impact on health systems," education, transportation, and civilian infrastructure like water distribution — compelling the government to accelerate its pivot toward solar energy and biofuels.
Diaz-Canel acknowledged that diplomatic exchanges with Washington remain active, but drew a firm line, stressing that Havana would not entertain any conditions touching its "political system." Domestically, Cuba's ruling communist party has moved to restructure the economy — expanding autonomy for private enterprises and opening new investment channels for the Cuban diaspora overseas.
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