KAZAN, April 2. /TASS/. Russia is preparing to send a second vessel loaded with oil to Cuba, Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov told reporters during the Energoprom-2026 forum.

"Yesterday, an important meeting was held in St. Petersburg. Cuban representatives came to us. Cuba is under a complete blockade. It's been cut off. Where did the oil shipment come from? A Russian vessel broke through the blockade. Now a second one is being loaded. We won't leave the Cubans hanging," he said.

On March 30, the Russian Transport Ministry reported that tanker Anatoly Kolodkin carrying 100,000 tons of oil as humanitarian aid had arrived in Cuba.

The situation with fuel in Havana worsened following the US-led military operation in Venezuela on January 3 to capture President Nicolas Maduro. The country was one of Cuba’s main oil suppliers. On January 29, the White House signed a decree allowing Washington to impose customs tariffs on goods from countries that supply oil to Cuba. It was also previously reported that the United States was not against periodic oil supplies to Cuba for humanitarian reasons by Russia and other countries.