At least 1,076 Cuban nationals have fought or are fighting for Russia in Ukraine, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 15. Ninety-six are known to have died or gone missing in action.

The soldier took up arms a decade ago to defend her home region, Donetsk, where Ukraine has been battling Russian-backed forces since 2014. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the region has become synonymous with Ukraine’s fight for survival. Battlefield developments in Donetsk are considered a gauge of each side’s fortunes in the war.

From a bunker in eastern Ukraine, the 33-year-old soldier asks her comrade to fly a reconnaissance drone over her childhood home, hoping for a final glimpse before it becomes just another city pulverized by years of fighting.

Ukraine expects to have a $3.5 billion fund by next month to buy weapons from the U.S. and sustain its fight against Russia's invasion.

Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies who has served as the U.K. ambassador to Belarus, wrote recently that foreign-policy setbacks and economic challenges have put Russia in a bind,

The Ukrainian leader wrote in a social media post that if a war can be stopped in one region, "surely other wars can be stopped as well."

Many recruits were unaware they were signing Russian-language contracts they could not understand and were later forced to reimburse Smirnova from their own bank accounts.

A 22-year-old Indian national, who was allegedly fighting for the Russian army, was reportedly captured by Ukrainian forces.

Cuba's Foreign Ministry on Saturday said U.S. claims that its troops were fighting in Ukraine were unfounded, and released for the first time information on legal proceedings against Cubans for mercenary activity in the war in Eastern Europe.