The sending of troops for the occupation of Ukraine continues to be the predominant factor in Putin’s war of imperialist aggression
14ymedio, Luis Zúñiga, Miami, July 15, 2024 — Europe has given great support to Ukraine for its defense against the war of aggression that Vladimir Putin launched two years and four months ago. European aid has not only consisted of weapons and money, but also includes economic sanctions on Russia and numerous governments that, directly or indirectly, help the Russian military effort.
In its fourteenth package of sanctions, the European Union has sanctioned 61 companies from China, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, India, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates. The overwhelming majority belong to China and are located in the telecommunications sector, especially satellites. This war has demonstrated the important and novel use of unmanned aircraft, the so-called drones, which for their effectiveness depend on images and satellite information.
But, without denying the important role of the drones, the sending of troops for the occupation of territory remains the predominant factor in Vladimir Putin’s war of imperialist aggression. And in this regard, Europe has not reacted to the regime that has given the greatest support and help to Russia in the number of soldiers sent, the communist dictatorship of Cuba.
The new package shows that Europeans consider sanctions against those who support Russia necessary. Why, then, don’t they include the Cuban regime?
Repeatedly, the Ukrainian intelligence services have provided photographs of the passports of Cubans who participate, along with Russian troops, in the war against Ukraine. The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance has sent photographs of Cuban soldiers in Ukraine to numerous European capitals and has shown, as evidence, the interviews that the media have conducted with the mothers of the Cubans killed in combat there.
It is incomprehensible that the governments of the old continent, individually or as part of the Union, continue to give away millions of euros to the Cuban dictatorship, while Havana sends soldiers to Russia to attack and occupy a European nation. It seems ironic and contradictory, but it is a reality. The European Union’s Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba (PDCA) gives the Island’s regime more than 150 million euros annually.
The new package shows that Europeans consider sanctions against those who support Russia necessary. Why, then, don’t they include the Cuban regime, starting with the suspension of the PDCA?
Neither Europe nor the United States should continue to ignore or sidestep the fact that Russia, China and Iran, the Axis of Evil, constitute the greatest threat to peace, freedom and democracy in the world, whether in Ukraine, Taiwan or the Middle East. And that axis has a very valuable and active ally in the Western Hemisphere: the Cuban dictatorship. When will they take its involvement seriously?
Editor’s Note: The author is a political analyst, former diplomat and former political prisoner in Cuba
Translated by Regina Anavy
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