A Russian Il-76 aircraft sanctioned by the US landed in Cuba this week, raising concerns about Moscow's military activities on the island. The aircraft, which has a history of transporting military equipment, touched down at a San Antonio de los Baños military air base on Tuesday, drawing attention due to its unannounced arrival.
The aircraft is operated by the Russian cargo airline Aviacon Zitotrans, which has been sanctioned by the United States, Canada, and Ukraine for its role in supporting Russia’s defence sector and transporting military materiel.
"According to available flight data, the Il-76 landed at the San Antonio de los Baños airfield, which is a Cuban military facility located approximately 30 miles south of Havana," Russian news channel Tsargrad reported, citing Fox News.
According to flight tracking data, the Il-76, registered RA-78765, flew from Russia to the Dominican Republic, Mauritania and Algeria before arriving in Cuba.
The aircraft had previously flown to Venezuela, Nicaragua and back to Cuba in late October 2025 with similar routes, when tensions between Caracas and Washington were escalating,
US analysts say that Russian activity in Cuban airspace is a concern. The type of cargo the Il-76 is carrying is also unknown. Its past missions reportedly involved transporting military hardware such as air defence systems.
The Il-76 is capable of transporting upto 50 tons of cargo or approximately 200 personnel.
During its flight to Venezuela, the flight had reportedly delivered Pantsir-S1 short-range and Buk-M2E medium-range air defence systems, according to Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev and Russian state media.
The flight has coincided with the mounting US pressure on Havana, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order on January 29 declaring Cuba a national emergency. Washington is also steadily increasing economic pressure on Cuba, signalling possible sanctions against countries supplying the island with crude oil.
