Cuban authorities said they had arrested 17 people on charges related to membership in a ring of human traffickers that allegedly lured young Cuban men to serve in the Russian military waging the war in Ukraine.

"As a result of the investigations, 17 people have been arrested so far, among them the internal organizer of these activities," Cesar Rodriguez, a colonel with Cuba's Interior Ministry, said late Thursday.

Rodriguez did not name any of those accused of participating in the trafficking ring but said the group's leader relied on two people residing on the island to recruit Cubans to fight for hire in Ukraine on behalf of Russia.

Cuba has said it has no part in the war in Ukraine and rejects using its citizens as mercenaries.