by The Reporter Magazine July 8, 2026
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Addis Ababa yesterday as part of his African tour, Ukraine’s I Want to Live project—an initiative operated by the country’s Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—published the names of 34 Ethiopian nationals it claims signed military contracts with Russia and took part in combat operations against Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian project, at least three of those listed have been confirmed killed in the fighting. The organization said the list was compiled from Russian military records.
Ukraine said the recruitment records point to an organized system rather than isolated enlistments. According to the data released, eight Ethiopians allegedly signed contracts on December 24, 2024, ten on September 1, 2025, and nine more on October 30, 2025.
“The pattern indicates coordinated recruitment rather than individuals independently joining the Russian military,” the project said.
The records show the earliest contract dates back to March 2023, when 50-year-old Habtemariam Sintaye Tesfaye allegedly enlisted, while the most recent contract is dated December 2025. The youngest recruits identified were reportedly born in 2002.
The Ukrainian project stressed that the 34 names represent only confirmed identifications and do not reflect the total number of Ethiopians believed to have been recruited by Russia.
The allegations come as “Lavrov’s visit seeks to deepen Moscow’s diplomatic engagement with African countries amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.” Neither the Russian government nor Ethiopian authorities commented on the claims so far.
In April 2022, hundreds of Ethiopians gathered outside the Embassy of Russia in Addis Ababa following rumors that Moscow was recruiting soldiers to fight in Ukraine. However, the embassy officially denied the recruitment claims, stating that the applicants were merely well-wishers showing solidarity with Russia.
The report claimed to confirm the personal data of 2,984 Africans from 40 countries who signed contracts with the Russian armed forces.
Martin Plaut 