Ruptly
"Francisco Pichon, UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba, warned on Monday that the island is facing a deepening energy crisis with wide-reaching humanitarian consequences, as prolonged fuel shortages worsened by US sanctions continue to disrupt essential services nationwide. He said the crisis is driving what he called a 'multiplying humanitarian impact' across nearly all aspects of daily life, including health, water and sanitation, food systems, education, transport and telecommunications. "In March alone, for example, the national electrical system disconnected three times, leaving the country in the dark for a day, two day while the energy was recovered," Pichon said, adding that the repeated blackouts have severely strained critical infrastructure. He highlighted major disruptions to healthcare, saying more than 96,000 surgeries have been postponed, including over 11,000 procedures for children, as hospitals struggle to maintain services amid power instability. He said occasional external fuel shipments - including a recent delivery from the Russian Federation - are providing only temporary relief and fall far short of national demand. "While any additional fuel may provide temporary relief, it is insufficient compared to the scale of the national needs and does not really address the structural nature of the oil blockade and how it affects all essential services." Pichon explained. The UN official said the organisation has activated a humanitarian response plan to address urgent needs, partially funded through resources previously allocated for Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island in October 2025. "We are mobilising as a target, 94.1 million USD, of which today we have already mobilised 26.2 million. [...] That means that we have a funding gap of about $60 million," he noted. Pichon added that discussions are ongoing with other actors, including engagement with the US mission to the UN, to facilitate humanitarian fuel access. On reports of additional oil deliveries, Pichon said he was not aware of Venezuelan fuel reaching the country, stating that only the Russian shipment had been confirmed alongside limited supplies for private sector activity. Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin - with 100,000 tonnes of crude oil - arrived in the Cuban port of Matanzas this week. President Donald Trump imposed a de facto energy blockade on the island in January, threatening tariffs on nations supplying it - but said that he had 'no problem' with the latest delivery, stating: "If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba, right now, I have no problem whether it's Russia or not.""
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