2.5 million troops are assisted by Russia, not North Korea, the third country is officially involved in the war?

When it comes to foreign troops that help Russia fight, the first thing that comes to mind is North Korea. The North Korean army's war in Kursk is famous all over the world, but in fact, the third country that provides the most troops to Russia is probably not North Korea. Recently, US media reported that as many as 25,000 Cuban troops have entered Russia to fight, and Cuba has surpassed North Korea to become the largest third-country army in Russia.US media analysis said that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is evolving into a large-scale proxy war against Ukraine, with a large number of foreign mercenaries participating in the war, which is very beneficial to Russia. What should we think of this news exposed by the US media? Why has Cuba become Russia's largest source of foreign mercenaries?

First of all, It can be determined that hiring more foreign mercenaries to participate in the war is in Russia's interests. The news exposed by the US media is not groundless.If the Russian Ministry of Defense hires its own citizens to participate in the war, it will not only have to pay normal wages and bear disability or death pensions, but also face the social security costs caused by the rising number of domestic casualties. The pressure can be said to be very great. If foreign mercenaries are hired, according to the contract provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense to the North Korean army, the monthly salary is about more than 2000 US dollars, and the annual salary is equivalent to less than 20,000 US dollars. The cost is significantly reduced. More importantly, there is no need to worry about the cost of social security. Therefore, hiring foreign mercenaries has long become an important manpower supplement strategy for the Russian Ministry of Defense. In the future, the Russian Ministry of Defense will only hire more foreigners, but not less. So why has Cuba become the main force hired by Russia?

Currently, there are two reasons. On the one hand, the relationship between Cuba and Russia is good, the ideologies of the two countries are close, Russia promotes conscription overseas, and Cubans are easy to respond mentally. On the other hand, the poverty situation in Cuba makes the conscription conditions offered by Russia very tempting.To know that the per capita income in Cuba is poorly low, according to the latest data of the Cuban National Bureau of Statistics and Information, in the first half of 2025, the average monthly wage of the Cuban was only 6,649 Cuban pesos (approximately $277).

But Cuba has never publicly announced its military involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the joining of Cuban mercenaries into the Russian army cannot be a sign that Cuba officially enters the war.In fact, the U.S. media rendered Cuban soldiers join the Russian army in large part to tell Europe to listen, trying to convince Europe to believe that Cuba is striving for the Russian army, in order to advise Europe not to prevent the U.S. then maintain the sanctions embargo on Cuba. but no matter what the U.S. is fighting, the determination of Russian President Putin has never shaken, he recently shouted a word to shake the West.

At the Vardy International Forum held earlier this month, Putin said in a public speech that in today¡¯s world, the era of a handful of great powers determining the way of life for the world has not returned, and Russia is ready to participate and fight for it!Clearly, this is the Kremlin's positive challenge to Western hegemony, both reaffirming that Russia will stand on the side of the global multipolar order, and especially releasing the judgment that the Western group cannot decide for the whole world. As Putin said, the West may have possessed a unique power, forcing the world to act according to the Western concepts, but that time has indeed not returned, multipolarization is already a global irreversible trend, no country or any group, do not want to drive back the history, let the world return to a single pattern dominated by some front, Russia will not promise, the world countries will not promise!