Sending Tanker to Cuba Went So Well Russia Is Sending No. 2

Russia plans to send a second oil tanker to Cuba, the country's Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilyov said on Thursday. The announcement comes just two days after sanctioned Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked at the Cuban port of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the first time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island. "Cuba is in a total blockade, it's been cut off. Whose shipment of oil made it? A Russian vessel broke through the blockade. A second one is being loaded right now, we will not leave Cubans alone in trouble," Tsivilyov said. Tsivilyov spoke on the sidelines of an energy forum in the Russian city of Kazan, reports the AP.

Russian Foreign Ministry rep Maria Zakharova sounded a similar note on Wednesday, notes Al Jazeera, saying, "Cuba is our closest friend and partner in the Caribbean, and we don't have the right to abandon it. Assistance to Cuba will continue." Cuba produces barely 40% of its required fuel and relies on imports to sustain its energy grid. Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba's daily demand for nine or 10 days.