Cubans call Ukraine embassy in Havana to show support, Zelensky invites them to fight visa-free

Phone lines at the Ukrainian Embassy in Havana were overwhelmed on Monday morning after a tweet announced that Cubans who want to join the fight against Russia in the newly established International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine can travel to Ukraine without a visa, sources at the embassy told ADN Cuba.

“Dear Cuban citizens! The president of Ukraine has by decree abolished visa requirements for foreign volunteers who wish to come to fight against Russia,” the embassy tweeted on Tuesday.

[1/3] ¡Estimados ciudadanos cubanos!
El presidente de 🇺🇦 por su decreto abolió las visas para voluntarios extranjeros que desean a venir a luchar contra 🇷🇺.

— UKR Embassy in Cuba (@UKRinCUB) March 1, 2022

Zelensky signed on Monday the presidential decree allowing free access to Ukraine for foreigners willing to fight, the Kyiv Independent revealed on Twitter.

Source: Zelensky's presidential decree, signed on Feb. 28.https://t.co/ViNIgtlPZj

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 28, 2022

Staff at the Ukrainian Embassy in Havana told ADN America that they have received hundreds of calls from Cubans who wish to volunteer to fight, but said they were not yet sure how many calls they have received. 

Soon after the announcement was made, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar took to Facebook and reported that thousands of people had already come forward in response to the president’s appeal, the Daily Mail reported.

This past weekend, Zelensky announced that his government was establishing an International Legion of Territorial Defense – a unit made for “anyone who wants to join the defense of Ukraine, Europe and the world can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals.”

During a media briefing on Saturday, the Ukrainian president invited “every friend of Ukraine” to join his armed forces and citizen soldiers in their fight for freedom.

“Every friend of Ukraine who wants to join Ukraine in defending the country, please come over. We will give you weapons. It will be announced very shortly, how this can be done. Everyone who is defending Ukraine is a hero,” he said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also took to Twitter on Saturday, asking foreigners to come fight.

“Foreigners willing to defend Ukraine and world order as part of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, I invite you to contact foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine in your respective countries.”

Foreigners willing to defend Ukraine and world order as part of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, I invite you to contact foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine in your respective countries. Together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin, too.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 27, 2022