From our Russification of Cuba Bureau with some assistance from our Bureau of Caribbean Cannon Fodder
No one knows the exact number of Cubans fighting for Russia in Ukraine. And no one knows how many of them are getting killed. But every now and then, news emerge about one such casualty. Today, it’s Lester Mora Pichardo, a father of three from Santa Clara who was lured to Russia under false promises of construction work, but was instead sent to front-line trenches after a mere month of training.
Loosely translated from Periodico Cubano
Cuban mercenary Lester Mora Pichardo, recruited by the Russian army for its invasion of Ukraine in July 2023, reportedly died the day before, becoming the sixth Cuban victim in that conflict, as confirmed by relatives to the broadcaster América Tevé.
Originally from Santa Clara, he is said to have died during an aerial attack by Ukrainian forces in the area where he was entrenched. Mora Pichardo, 37, had recorded the trench where he was hiding hours before. The family provided the video of what would be the last moments of his life.
Family testimonies indicate that before his final combat, Mora Pichardo was recovering from previous injuries in a hospital. Despite his condition, he was sent back to the front, where he would face his final fate.
The mercenary traveled to Russia with a group of about 40 Cubans recruited under the promise of a one-year contract to supposedly work in construction. However, upon arriving in Moscow and with only a month of preparation, he was sent to the battlefield.
In communication with his relatives in Santa Clara, Mora Pichardo told them that he was in a bunker, in a military concentration camp, and that he was very worried because he didn’t know anything about military tactics and they had practically been forced to go there because they only spoke to them in Russian, and they didn’t know that language.
Just like what happened with other Cubans who have given their testimony, they were deceived by the Russians who needed more men to sustain their invasion campaign in Ukrainian territory.
In Cuba, Mora Pichardo leaves behind three orphaned children, two boys aged five and 13, as well as a little girl of only three years old.
Continue reading HERE in Spanish