Special Report-WhatsApp to war: How Cubans were recruited to fight for Russia

Marilin Vinent shows a photo of her son Dannys Castillo dressed in military uniform in an August 22 message from her son which reads in Spanish "I'm already entangled", during an interview with Reuters at their home in Alamar, eastern Havana suburb, Cuba, September 6, 2023. To match Special Report CUBA-RUSSIA/ REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

LA FEDERAL, Cuba (Reuters) - Cuban seamstress Yamidely Cervantes has bought a new sewing machine for the first time in years, plus a refrigerator and a cellphone - all on Russia's dime.

She said her 49-year-old husband Enrique Gonzalez, a struggling bricklayer, left their home in the small town of La Federal on July 19 to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine. Days later, he wired her part of his signing-on bonus of about 200,000 roubles ($2,040) which she received in Cuban pesos, Cervantes told Reuters.