Fuel contribution: Russia plans new oil supplies to Cuba
Russia is allowing further oil supplies to Cuba, the State Duma told Izvestia. The Republic is also interested in diesel fuel. At the same time, Havana expects to receive raw materials not only as humanitarian aid, it is ready to pay, the parliament added. Earlier, the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin arrived at a port in the north of the republic after the tightening of the oil blockade. There are 100 thousand tons of crude oil on board. According to experts, the fuel will be used primarily for government needs. How the Americans look at this is in the Izvestia article.
Tanker Anatoly Kolodkin arrives in Cuba
The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin with 100 thousand tons of crude oil arrived in Cuba, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation reported. The ship reached the island without military escort. Thus, Russia became the first country in three months to supply fuel to Cuba amid the tightening of the oil blockade.
"We will not leave you without help, there is no doubt about that," Pavel Zavalny, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, told Izvestia. — Surely there will be more supplies, surely there will be help.
Russia is planning further oil supplies to Cuba, Dmitry Novikov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia.
— That's all (oil supplies to Cuba. — Ed.) working things, they are being discussed, planned, but if you ask further when, I will not answer this question, — said the parliamentarian. — They are ready to accept our assistance not only in the framework of humanitarian projects, but also are ready to build payment schemes for these supplies not only at the level of the intergovernmental commission.
According to him, the Cuban side is so interested in the supply of oil and petroleum products that this topic arises at all levels and in any format, including at inter-parliamentary meetings. The island is also interested in the supply of diesel fuel from Russia. The republic is ready to accept everything related to oil in any form, Novikov concluded.
Donald Trump said on March 30 that he was not against supplies from Russia. Although earlier he threatened to impose heavy duties against any country that brings oil to Cuba. And it worked in the case of, for example, Mexico. The President of the Republic then officially announced that the country would suspend supplies for security reasons. According to Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Russia discussed the issue of humanitarian supplies with the American side in advance.
The tanker docked at the port of Matanzas in the north of the island. The nearest port, Key West, in the U.S. state of Florida, is about 168 km away as the crow flies. Two to three hours are enough for the Coast Guard and the US Navy to reach Matanzas and detain the ship. But Washington did not go for it.
Experts believe that he could not just turn a blind eye to the supply: there are probably mutual concessions between the powers that the parties do not disclose.
"They are meeting us halfway with Cuba, for them this is actually not such a significant issue, but we are meeting them halfway on other issues," Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia. — I do not rule out that this is an Iranian problem, because Russia can become almost the moderator of the negotiation process here.
In the context of the conflict in Iran, which is not going according to the Pentagon's scenario, Trump simply does not have enough resources to "play on three or four boards," so the US reaction may be a signal of readiness to take into account Russia's interests in the region, added Mikhail Khachaturian, associate professor at the Department of Strategic and Innovative Development at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. The expert clarified that such a scenario should be considered only as a temporary phenomenon.
The energy crisis in Cuba
The media claim that there is enough Russian fuel for Cuba for a month. According to Khachaturian's estimates, this period may last for 45-50 days. But, according to Armen Tadevosyan, adviser on the strategic development of the energy agenda of the Association of European Businesses, in conditions when the country's annual domestic consumption is about 5 million tons, a single supply will only last for 10-12 days.
— The main part of the raw materials will be processed at the country's only large refinery in Cienfuegos to produce fuel oil and diesel fuel. This will allow at least a little stabilization of the energy supply and reduce widespread power outages, but only temporarily," said Daniil Kochetov, a specialist in state and municipal management, a political scientist.
In Cuba, over 85% of electricity generation is carried out by thermal power plants running on oil and fuel oil, Armen Tadevosyan specified. In addition to generation, the oil will be used to produce diesel fuel and gasoline for transport and reserves, as well as fuel oil for energy, the expert noted.
Fuel is unlikely to be freely sold on the domestic market, says Igor Yushkov, an analyst at the National Energy Security Fund. According to him, Cuba will concentrate energy resources in the public sector: it will refuel diesel generators in those institutions where it is most needed, for example, in the healthcare system.
Due to the energy crisis, widespread power outages are taking place on the island. There are accidents at the power plants, as they have not been upgraded for decades, and the entire island is periodically plunged into darkness. We have to postpone operations in hospitals. The crisis has dealt a blow to healthcare, which for many years has been considered the best in the region.
Key nickel and cobalt producers, which are part of Cuba's backbone industries, are also suffering. The Canadian company Sherritt International, which owns half of the Moa Nickel company, has suspended operations due to the crisis. In 2025, more than 25 thousand tons of nickel and almost 3 thousand tons of cobalt were produced there. Even a short-term pause will result in losses of tens of millions of dollars for Cuba.
There are also Russian enterprises on the island, for example, UAZ. The planned production volume of domestic cars at the first stage was up to 500 cars per year, with a full load of 1.5 thousand. The plant planned to increase the production of cars, but the crisis disrupted the work.
Some of the oil in Cuba can be used for transport needs, primarily for cargo and passenger fleets, Daniil Kochetov added. As for the resumption of UAZ production in Cuba, this is unlikely. According to the expert, the Cuban side does not have sufficient capacity and demand to start assembling cars.
Meanwhile, the representative office of the Russian bank Novik in Cuba continues to operate normally.
— Interaction with partners is carried out smoothly, in accordance with current agreements and local regulations. There are no restrictions affecting the activities of the representative office. The issue of its closure is not currently being considered, " the company's press service told Izvestia.
The United States has repeatedly insisted on the introduction of a market economy in Cuba and the reduction of state control, and at the same time Washington has seriously hit the private sector with an oil blockade: bakeries, wholesalers, shops — many of them are literally paralyzed.
One of the most striking examples is the company Supermarket23. This is an online store where you can order groceries, appliances, and household appliances. In February, the company stopped accepting orders: there was no fuel left for deliveries and generators in warehouses.
Now, after the oil supply, the crisis cannot be eliminated promptly. There is no developed pipeline network in Cuba that would allow for the rapid distribution of raw materials across the country, said Saba Aptsiauri, Head of Sales at FCS-Service Group. According to him, there may be a situation where the country formally has a resource, but individual regions or enterprises are still experiencing shortages.
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