A Russian tanker delivered humanitarian aid to Cuba in strict accordance with international law. This was stated by the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Andrey Nikitin, on the sidelines of the International Transport and Logistics Forum.
Cuba is our strategic partner, we have supported it, we are supporting it, and we will continue to support it. Our ships sail under the Russian flag, they brought humanitarian cargo to Cuba. And there can be no grounds for restricting navigation. This is a basic principle of the world economy.
The Minister noted that Russian ships operate under the state flag and cannot be subject to restrictions, as they deliver humanitarian cargo. He added that freedom of navigation remains a fundamental principle of the global economy, and any attempts to violate it contradict established practice.
According to the presidential press service, fuel supplies to Cuba were discussed with the American side in advance. Dmitry Peskov explained that Washington did not create obstacles for the passage of the tanker, since it was about supporting the life support systems of the island, which is experiencing a shortage of energy resources.
The delivery of oil to Cuba is not the only area of Russian-Cuban cooperation in the transport sector. The parties are working on the prospects for resuming air traffic, modernizing port infrastructure, and exchanging technological solutions in the field of logistics.
It is worth recalling that on March 30, 2026, the cargo ship "Anatoly Kolodkin" with 730 thousand barrels of crude oil on board entered the territorial waters of Cuba.