The article cited a statement by Cuba's government, a Russia's ally. You can't find a more Russian's friendly source.
Remember it's still an "special operation" (despite heavy cost, 500 days and going), resemblance of normalcy at home must be maintained. They used Wagner's fighters who are mercenaries. Use inmates. Use conscripts from remote areas or minority ethnics. They also try to recruit from Central Asia:
It is not fake. At the same time, I find it fishy as hell. First of all, it was not uncovered by the authorities, but by others; since it went public, then the authorities made the statemente yesterday evening (Cuba time.) It could be that an investigation was under way and this just blew the lid off.
Still, here's what I find extremely strange: Cuba is an island with very tight border controls; they know exactly who leaves and who enters. And here we have some kids going through the military service, that can fly out of Cuba? By the hundreds? No way.
The kids said that they were going to Russia to participate in construction activities, as contracted workers; however, they were diverted elsewhere with the ultimate destination being the front lines in the future. Could they be lying? Of course. I don't know.
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[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 28.8 ms ] threadRemember it's still an "special operation" (despite heavy cost, 500 days and going), resemblance of normalcy at home must be maintained. They used Wagner's fighters who are mercenaries. Use inmates. Use conscripts from remote areas or minority ethnics. They also try to recruit from Central Asia:
https://thediplomat.com/2023/08/russian-military-recruitment...
Still, here's what I find extremely strange: Cuba is an island with very tight border controls; they know exactly who leaves and who enters. And here we have some kids going through the military service, that can fly out of Cuba? By the hundreds? No way.
The kids said that they were going to Russia to participate in construction activities, as contracted workers; however, they were diverted elsewhere with the ultimate destination being the front lines in the future. Could they be lying? Of course. I don't know.