Russians arrive bringing oil: A respite after Trump's blockade

The tanker Anatoliy Kolodkin, which sailed from Primorsk carrying about 650,000 barrels of Ural crude oil, has arrived in Cuba and is expected to unload at the port of Matanzas.

“The Russian tanker Anatoliy Kolodkin with a humanitarian cargo of 100,000 tons of crude oil has arrived in Cuba,” the Russian Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

The United States allowed the Russian oil tanker to approach Cuba, and the U.S. Coast Guard was not ordered to intercept the ship, despite having vessels capable of such an operation in the region.

This avoided a potential direct confrontation with Russia near the U.S. coast.

Russians granted permission

The United States permitted the Russian oil tanker to approach Cuba, according to the New York Times, citing unnamed sources.

The U.S. Coast Guard was not instructed to intercept the ship, even though it has the capability to do so in the area, the sources said. This avoided a possible direct confrontation with Russia near the American coastline.

The arrival of the tanker could provide Cuba with several weeks of additional fuel supply and temporarily stabilize its power grid, which has been affected by frequent blackouts, fuel shortages, and rising prices.

The U.S. blockade policy toward Cuba has drawn international criticism, including warnings that it could worsen the humanitarian situation on the island.

This is the first major delivery since the de facto oil supply blockade implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration in January.