Ethiopians Queue Up To Volunteer For Russia’s Fight In Ukraine

Several hundred Ethiopian men have been seen early each morning outside the Russian embassy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, registering to volunteer for military service with Russia in Ukraine.

Drawn by rumours on social media, young men and old, many with their military records in hand, arrived with hopes of fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

There is no evidence that any Ethiopians have been sent to Ukraine, nor is it clear if any ever will be.

A man who came out of the embassy and addressed the volunteers in Russian through an interpreter said Russia had enough forces for now, but that they would be contacted when they were needed.

The Russian embassy did not respond to questions about the man’s identity or whether Russia was deploying Ethiopian volunteers to Ukraine.

It issued a statement later on Tuesday saying that it was not recruiting fighters, and that the Ethiopians who showed up outside were well-wishers expressing “solidarity and support for the Russian Federation”.

The Ethiopian foreign ministry welcomed the Russian statement for what it called “refuting the unfounded reports of recruitment for the Russian Armed Forces” but did not respond to Reuters questions. Neither did the Russian foreign ministry.

Ukraine’s embassy in Addis Ababa referred questions to the Ethiopian authorities.

Ethiopia has called on all sides in the war to exercise restraint and did not vote on a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine which Russia calls a “special military operation” to demilitarise the country.