ABOARD AIRFORCE ONE (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump on Sunday night said he has 鈥渘o problem鈥� with a off the coast of delivering relief to the island, which has been brought to its knees by a U.S. oil blockade.
鈥淲e have a tanker out there. We don鈥檛 mind having somebody get a boatload because they need 鈥� they have to survive,鈥� Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington.
When asked if a New York Times report that the tanker would be allowed to reach Cuba was true, Trump said: 鈥淚 told them, if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it鈥檚 Russia or not.鈥�
On Monday, Russia’s Transport Ministry said the oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin arrived at the Cuban port of Matanzas carrying 鈥渉umanitarian supplies鈥� of about 730,000 barrels of oil.
The vessel is sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom following the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia had previously discussed its oil shipment to Cuba with the United States. 鈥淩ussia 褋onsiders it its duty not to stand aside, but to provide the necessary assistance to our Cuban friends,鈥� he told reporters.
Trump, whose government has come at its Caribbean adversary more aggressively than any U.S. government in recent history, has effectively cut Cuba off from key oil shipments in an effort to . The blockade has had Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say they want to help, leaving many desperate.
Cubans already grappling with years of crisis, and a lack of gasoline and basic resources has crippled hospital and slashed public transport.
Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba鈥檚 daily demand for nine or 10 days.
Cuba has long been at the heart of geopolitical tug-of-war between the U.S. and Russia, dating back decades. Trump on Sunday dismissed the idea that allowing the boat to reach Cuba would help Russian President Vladimir Putin.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 help him. He loses one boatload of oil, that鈥檚 all it is. If he wants to do that, and if other countries want to do it, it doesn鈥檛 bother me much,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to have an impact. Cuba鈥檚 finished. They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it鈥檚 not going to matter.鈥�
He added: 鈥淚鈥檇 prefer letting it in, whether it鈥檚 Russia or anybody else because the people need heat and cooling and all of the other things.鈥�
___
Associated Press reporters Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City and Andrea Rodr铆guez contributed from Havana.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
