Russia says boat incident near Cuba is 'aggressive provocation' by US

Russia condemned the Florida-registered speedboat incident off Cuba, calling it an “aggressive provocation” by the U.S. that risks escalating tensions. The clash left four exiles dead and six wounded after Cuban forces intercepted the vessel.

Reuters

February 26, 2026

Russia says boat incident near Cuba is 'aggressive provocation' by US

People approach the entrance of the Provincial Clinical–Surgical Hospital "Arnaldo Milian Castro," where, according to local information, injured people were being treated after an armed incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat and a Cuban patrol, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States, in Santa Clara, Cuba, February 25, 2026

Norlys Perez/Reuters

Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday that an incident with a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of Cuba was an ‘aggressive provocation by the United States’ aimed at escalating the situation and triggering a conflict, state-owned TASS news agency reported.

Cuban forces killed four exiles and wounded six others who sailed into Cuban waters aboard a speedboat on Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

"This is an aggressive provocation by the United States aimed at escalating the situation and detonating a conflict," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by TASS.

-Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Raju Gopalakrishnan/Reuters