Russia has recruited around 20,000 Cuban citizens to act as mercenaries in its ongoing war against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence officials.

Andriy Yusov, a representative for Ukraine's military intelligence agency, told U.S. House representatives on Wednesday during a national security briefing that Cuba is ranked "at the very top" among countries from which Russia sources its mercenaries.

"Currently, our good intelligence tells us about at least 20,000 people from Cuba that have already filled the documents and have been recruited to fight for Russia," Yusov said, per one of his colleagues who translated his presentation for the congressional panel.

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Yusov's assessment underscores the difficulties Russia and Ukraine are facing in keeping the frontlines of the battlefield staffed as the war moves into its fourth year. Moscow has increasingly turned to assistance from foreign troops over the past year, from areas such as North Korea, the Middle East, and Africa, as it launches frequent but costly ground assaults.

Yusov said that Ukraine has confirmed the identities of at least 1,038 Cuban mercenaries who signed contracts between June 2023 and February 2024.

He did not however, detail how Ukraine obtained this information, although officials later at the briefing implied that many of these fighters were killed or captured.

The average age of the Cuban fighters is 35, and their average monthly wage is $2,000, Yusov added.

"This is the age where people should be building families and working hard, but unfortunately, they choose to go for war," he told the panel.

The spokesman added that Ukrainian officials had at least 250 Cuban fighters who had remained on the front lines even after their contracts expired.

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Yusov said that data shows the typical contracted foreigner who is killed while fighting for Russia meets their death within 140 to 150 days.

"It is beneficial for Putin's regime to attract Cuban mercenaries," Yusov said. "So if a foreigner dies, there are no social payouts and no responsibility. There are no relatives inside Russia who are unhappy with the war."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has enacted several new laws since the beginning of the war in 2022 that codify payouts for wounded soldiers and families of those killed in the war.

While Russia does not publish official numbers on the economic costs of these payouts, independent analysts say they're likely placing a significant strain on Russia's economy. Maryan Zablotskyy, a Ukrainian parliament member attending the panel, presented documents that he says shed light on how the Cuban mercenaries are being treated, including a list of fighters' names, ages, the date of their death, and when they signed their contracts.

Another document presented by Zablotskyy, showed a plea from a Cuban woman to a Russian ombudsman for the location and condition of her husband, contracts for Cuban women, and Russian judicial records of a local recruiter who testified that she helped to hire 6,000 to 7,000 Cuban people.

"You can even see just from one confirmed recruiter how many in thousands they are promising to Russia, in terms of mercenaries," Zablotskyy said.

The briefing on Wednesday, held by Republican representatives for southern Florida, aimed to put pressure on the international community to impose punitive measures on the Cuban government for its ties to the Kremlin.