Russia Says It Will Not Abandon Cuba as Second Oil Delivery Gets Underway

Russia is preparing a second oil shipment to Cuba, a fresh sign that Moscow is stepping in as Havana struggles with a punishing fuel shortage that has triggered blackouts, transportation disruptions, and broader economic paralysis. Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said the next tanker is already being loaded after the first tanker, the Anatoly Kolodkin, reached Cuba this week with roughly 100,000 metric tons of crude.

"A Russian ship broke the blockade. Now the second is being loaded. We will not abandon the Cubans," Tsivilev said, according to Interfax, in remarks cited by Reuters.

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The first shipment was Cuba's first major oil arrival in about three months. The tanker delivered around 700,000 barrels of crude to the Matanzas oil terminal. The vessel itself is under U.S., European Union, and U.K. sanctions linked to Russia's war in Ukraine, but the Trump administration allowed it to proceed on humanitarian grounds, underscoring how severe Cuba's energy emergency has become.

Cuban authorities and state officials have framed the delivery as critical relief. Cuba's Foreign Ministry thanked Russia publicly, saying the shipment arrived at a moment of acute strain, and Reuters reported that the government has cast the fuel crunch as part of a U.S. pressure campaign. Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy also stressed how dependent the island is on imported fuel, a vulnerability that has become impossible to hide as outages stretch for hours and basic services come under pressure.

The numbers help explain the urgency. Cuba generates only about 40 percent of the energy it needs, leaving it reliant on foreign fuel to keep its aging thermoelectric plants running. The recent Russian cargo was estimated to provide only around nine or 10 days of diesel demand, meaning even a second ship would likely offer temporary breathing room rather than a durable fix. That is especially important in a country where fuel shortages have worsened public transit problems, slowed industry and deepened the impact of long electricity cuts on daily life.

President Donald Trump, for his part, has tried to minimize the geopolitical significance of the first tanker's arrival. "I have no problem with that," Trump said, arguing that allowing the shipment to reach Cuba did not meaningfully help Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House has insisted U.S. sanctions policy toward Cuba has not changed and that future requests for similar deliveries will be reviewed case by case. In other words, the second Russian shipment may be in motion, but its path is not entirely guaranteed.

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