Russia says it will send second tanker to aid energy-starved Cuba

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Russia plans to send a second oil tanker to Cuba, the country’s energy minister said Thursday, as Havana faces a worsening energy shortage blamed on the U.S. embargo. The minister, Sergei Tsivilyov, spoke on the sidelines of an energy forum in the Russian city of Kazan and said the next shipment was being loaded even as the island continues to report limited access to fuel.

The announcement came two days after a sanctioned Russian tanker, the Anatoly Kolodkin, docked at the Cuban port of Matanzas carrying 730,000 barrels of oil. Experts cited by the Associated Press said the shipment could yield about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to meet Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days. MSI previously reported the initial arrival of that tanker as part of the broader oil-blockade dispute.

Tsivilyov said Cuba is facing what he described as a total blockade and said Russia would not leave Cubans “alone in trouble.” In a quote carried by AP, he said the first tanker “broke through the blockade” and that a second vessel is “being loaded right now.” The minister also framed the shipment as an expression of solidarity with the Caribbean nation.

As the latest oil shipments were announced, hundreds of people in Havana demonstrated against the U.S. embargo, riding bicycles, motorcycles and small three-wheeled vehicles along the city’s seaside seawall. The march passed the U.S. Embassy and moved toward downtown, with participants chanting “Yes to Cuba! No to the blockade!” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other officials watched from the sidelines but did not join the protest.

Some demonstrators also criticized the idea that Cuba would surrender to outside pressure, including riders on electric scooters who shouted questions about who was “afraid” and who would “surrender.” Among the protesters was Yeni López, a 33-year-old Havana resident, who told AP that they had come by bicycle given the situation Cuba is facing and to reaffirm that they would remain present.

The policy backdrop for the tanker plan is tied to U.S. actions described by AP, including threats of tariffs aimed at countries that supply oil to Cuba. In late January, AP reported, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba. Trump later said he had “no problem” with the Russian oil tanker that delivered relief to the island on Tuesday, while adding that he did not think the shipment would help prop up Cuba’s government.

Trump had also told reporters earlier that Cuba was “finished,” describing Cuba as having “very bad and corrupt leadership” and arguing that a boat of oil would not matter. AP linked the broader U.S. administration stance to demands that Cuba ease political repression and liberalize its economy in exchange for sanctions relief.

Cuba’s fuel situation has been described by AP as dire: the island produces barely 40% of its required fuel and relies on imports to keep its energy grid running. AP reported that critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country and arrested its leader, and said Mexico has also stopped shipping oil to Cuba after Trump warned of tariffs.

AP also said the U.S. energy blockade has contributed to Cuba’s energy and economic crisis, including severe blackouts and cuts to the state-run food ration system, alongside shortages of water and medicine, with AP saying the island’s most vulnerable people have been hit hardest.