Russia to aid hurricane-hit Cuba with diesel fuel, minister says
By Reuters
November 9, 2024 at 1:00:01 PM
FILE PHOTO: A man walks in a flooded street a day after Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Batabano, Cuba, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/ REUTERS/Norlys Perez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cars pass by a toppled pylon with high tension electrical wires on a highway a day after Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Cuba, near Artemisa, Cuba, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People charge their mobile phones after Hurricane Rafael knocked out the country's electrical grid, leaving 10 million people without electrical service, in Havana, Cuba November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Norlys Perez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk in a flooded street a day after Hurricane Rafael made landfall, in Batabano, Cuba, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/ REUTERS/Norlys Perez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People pass by debris a day after Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Cuba, Artemisa, Cuba, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini/File Photo
(Reuters) - Russia has pledged to provide Cuba with approximately 80,000 tons of diesel fuel worth $60 million to assist the island nation in its energy crisis, Russian state-run RIA news agency reported on Friday, citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.
Cuba's electric grid collapsed on Wednesday as Hurricane Rafael moved across the island with top winds of more than 115 mph (185 kph), damaging homes, uprooting trees and toppling telephone poles.
"Russia is ready to provide brotherly Cuba with emergency assistance in connection with the current situation in the energy sector, including the supply of about 80,000 tons of diesel fuel for the amount approved in accordance with the president's instruction - $60 million," Chernyshenko said.
On Thursday, the local authorities said they had begun restoring power to the eastern half of the island. Cuba's energy grid failed several times last month.
(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov, Editing by Ron Popeski and Bill Berkrot)
Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
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