Cuba’s worsening energy crisis has entered a critical phase after the island exhausted a donated shipment of Russian oil, prompting warnings from senior officials that fuel reserves have effectively run dry amid intensifying US sanctions and soaring summer demand.

In a televised address on Wednesday night, Cuba’s Energy and Mines Minister, Vicente de la O Levy, said the country’s electricity grid was under severe strain and that diesel supplies had been depleted.

“The situation is very tense, it’s becoming hotter,” the minister said on state television, referring to rising temperatures that increase electricity........

© Naya Daur