SW News: Cuban officials are seeking to "neutralize and dismantle" a human trafficking ring that forced its people to fight for Russia in the conflict with Ukraine, according to the country's foreign ministry.

Cuba's foreign ministry highlighted that the trafficking network was active both on the Caribbean island nation—which is thousands of miles away from Moscow—and in Russia.

"The Ministry of the Interior... is working on the neutralization and dismantling of a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine," the Cuban government statement said. Russia's defence ministry declined to comment.

Last year, Russia announced a plan to increase the number of its armed forces by more than 30% to 1.5 million, an ambitious objective made more difficult by the unreported war deaths.

A Russian publication in Ryazan stated in late May that some Cubans had accepted contracts with the Russian military and had been transported to Ukraine in exchange for Russian citizenship. If the Ryazan report was related to the Cuban foreign ministry statement was not immediately evident.

Cuban migrants wishing to flee the country's economic doldrums have traditionally looked to Russia, which maintains close political relations with the Communist-run island nation.

Earlier this year, at a meeting in Moscow, the defence ministers of Cuba and Russia discussed the creation of collaborative "technical military" initiatives. However, Miguel Diaz-Canel's leadership in Cuba denies any role in the violence in Ukraine.

On Monday, the foreign ministry declared that Cuba is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine. It said that Cuba will take aggressive action against anyone who engages in any type of human trafficking with the intention of using Cuban nationals as mercenaries.