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Kremlin says Cuba situation is escalating, humanitarian needs must be solved

By Thomson Reuters Feb 26, 2026 | 4:05 AM

MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday that the situation in Cuba was ​heating up and called for ‌restraint after a deadly incident with a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island.

Cuban forces killed four ‌exiles ​and wounded six ⁠others who sailed into ⁠Cuban waters aboard a speedboat on Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol in what ​Russia condemned as an “aggressive provocation by the United States” at ⁠a time of ⁠heightened tensions with Washington.

Kremlin spokesman ​Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the ​most important thing was to resolve ‌Cubans’ socio-economic and humanitarian needs.

“The situation around Cuba, as we can see, is heating up. The ⁠main thing is the humanitarian component. All humanitarian issues concerning Cuban citizens must ⁠be resolved, ‌and no one should ⁠create obstacles,” Peskov told ​reporters.

“As ‌for security around the island, ​it ⁠is, of course, very important that everyone remain restrained and refrain from any provocative actions”.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by ​Andrew Osborn)