A sanctioned Russian tanker made a move to breach the US blockade of Cuba, and Trump’s response directly contradicted months of his own policy

President Donald Trump recently said he has “no problem” with a sanctioned Russian oil tanker delivering fuel to Cuba. This directly contradicts the aggressive blockade his own administration has kept in place for months. The move comes as Cuba faces severe fuel shortages and widespread blackouts across the island.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he didn’t mind a Russian oil tanker off Cuba’s coast providing aid. “We have a tanker out there,” Trump said. “We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need… they have to survive.” He added, “I told them, if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it’s Russia or not.”

According to AP News, the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin then arrived at the Cuban port of Matanzas on Monday. Russia’s Transport Ministry confirmed the vessel was carrying “humanitarian supplies” totaling about 730,000 barrels of oil. Notably, the Anatoly Kolodkin is under sanctions by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Trump’s Cuba policy shift shows the human cost of the blockade has become too hard to ignore

The Trump administration had taken a notably aggressive stance against Cuba, more so than any recent US government, focusing on cutting off key oil shipments to pressure for regime change. The blockade caused island-wide blackouts, crippled hospitals, and severely reduced public transport, making daily life extremely difficult for ordinary Cubans.

Experts say the 730,000-barrel shipment could produce around 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to meet Cuba’s daily demand for roughly nine to ten days. This would provide much-needed relief to a population already dealing with years of crisis and worsening living conditions. Trump has made several surprising remarks at recent investor events that have raised eyebrows across the political spectrum.

Trump also dismissed concerns that allowing the Russian vessel into Cuba would benefit Vladimir Putin. “It doesn’t help him,” Trump said. “He loses one boatload of oil, that’s all it is. If he wants to do that, and if other countries want to do it, it doesn’t bother me much.”

Trump also downplayed the shipment’s long-term impact on Cuba itself, saying, “Cuba’s finished. They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter.” This is not the first time Trump has made confusing statements mid-speech that left audiences doing a double take.

Despite that, Trump emphasized his humanitarian reasoning for allowing the delivery. “I’d prefer letting it in, whether it’s Russia or anybody else because the people need heat and cooling and all of the other things,” he said.