ADDIS ABABA, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Ethiopia has taken delivery of 12 Russian-made Su-35 fighter jets and will later receive four S-400 air defence systems from Moscow as part of a drive to bolster its military capabilities, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Wednesday.
• Abiy said on X that the deliveries marked a milestone in Ethiopia’s efforts to strengthen national security and “pre-emptively deter aggression”
• He said Russian President Vladimir Putin had helped ensure the fourth-generation Su-35 military planes were delivered a year earlier than scheduled
• Abiy did not disclose the value of the agreement, when the S-400 systems would be delivered or where the aircraft and air defence batteries would be based
• Ethiopia faces multiple security challenges, including in the northern Tigray region, where a rebel alliance last month launched an offensive against the government, rekindling a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people between 2020 and 2022
• In the previous conflict, its air power — especially through the widespread deployment of foreign-made drones — helped turn the tide of the fighting
• The renewed fighting led to the severing of ties between Ethiopia and its neighbour Eritrea, which Addis Ababa accuses of backing the rebels, although Asmara denies that
• Russian state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec, responsible for Russian arms exports, did not immediately respond to a request for comment
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Additional reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani; Editing by Alexander Winning and Timothy Heritage)
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