In October 2025, it was reported that the Russian military has been recruiting thousands of Cuban workers to fight in Ukraine, including through a Ryazan-based travel agency.

The agency allegedly posted Spanish-language job announcements on Facebook and VK in a group called ‘Cubans in Moscow’. According to the reporting, the job postings have since been deleted but promised Russian citizenship and a high monthly salary. Some of the Cubans did not know they were going to war but believed they were going to work on construction sites or similar jobs.

In January 2025, the Business and Human Rights Centre invited Meta and VK to respond to the article, and to outline how they monitor and remove content advertising jobs that make false promises and provide false information to Cuban workers migrating to Russia. Meta’s response can be read in full below. VK did not respond.