Overview

• An Oct. 2 unclassified cable instructed U.S. missions to urge governments to vote against the annual non-binding resolution, with abstentions or absences also welcomed.
• The cable claims 1,000 to 5,000 Cubans are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, portraying Havana as actively supporting Moscow’s invasion.
• The document says past efforts emphasizing legal issues and humanitarian exceptions failed, and it provides new talking points casting Cuba as a threat to international peace.
• Last year the resolution passed 187–2 with one abstention, and despite its political weight only the U.S. Congress can lift the embargo.
• Cuba’s U.N. mission did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Ukrainian officials have warned U.S. lawmakers about Russia’s recruitment of Cuban fighters.