---
title: "As Ethiopia fights on two fronts, Moscow delivers twelve Su-35s and a promise of S-400s"
description: "Abiy Ahmed announced the arrival on X from the Russia-Africa summit; the S-400 air defences are still to come"
author: "Jan Sokol"
published: 2026-10-28T16:35:30Z
modified: 2026-10-28T19:40:41Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/as-ethiopia-fights-on-two-fronts-moscow-delivers-twelve-su-3-e2eb20
language: en
tags: ["ethiopia", "russia", "su-35", "s-400", "tigray", "africa", "mideast"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# As Ethiopia fights on two fronts, Moscow delivers twelve Su-35s and a promise of S-400s

*Abiy Ahmed announced the arrival on X from the Russia-Africa summit; the S-400 air defences are still to come*

By Jan Sokol · October 28, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/as-ethiopia-fights-on-two-fronts-moscow-delivers-twelve-su-3-e2eb20

## In brief

- Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on X that Ethiopia has received 12 Russian Su-35 fighter jets
- Ethiopia will also acquire four S-400 air defence batteries, to be delivered later
- The announcement came during Abiy’s visit to Moscow for the two-day Russia-Africa Summit
- Ethiopia is fighting armed groups in Tigray and Amhara; the jet delivery was fast-tracked ahead of schedule

The announcement came not from a parade ground in Addis Ababa but from a social media post written in Moscow. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took to X to tell the world that Ethiopia has received 12 Russian Su-35 fighter jets, and that four S-400 air defence batteries are to follow.

## The summit market

Abiy made the announcement during a visit to Moscow for the two-day Russia-Africa Summit, the gathering at which, as [Al Jazeera reported](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/28/ethiopia-receives-12-russian-su-35-jets-plans-s-400-acquisition), Russia is seeking closer security and economic ties with African countries. [The Moscow Times adds](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/28/ethiopia-receives-12-russian-su-35-fighter-jets-a94110) that the S-400 systems will be delivered later, as part of a push to bolster Ethiopia’s military capabilities. Twelve fighters now, four missile batteries later: such is the arithmetic of a summit where influence is bartered in hardware.

## War at home

Ethiopia, meanwhile, is a country fighting itself. The government is battling armed groups in Tigray and Amhara, and [Business Insider Africa reports](https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/ethiopia-takes-delivery-of-12-su-35-russian-fighter-jets-ahead-of-schedule-as/s11q2s3) that the delivery of the jets was fast-tracked — they arrived ahead of schedule — amid renewed internal conflict and rising security threats. In regions where fighting has become part of daily existence, the arrival of twelve supersonic aircraft is no abstraction of geopolitics. It changes what the sky means to the people underneath it.

There is an old pattern in this, one that repeats from continent to continent: a government pressed by its own citizens at home goes abroad to buy reassurance, and returns with wings. The Su-35s are already on the ground. The S-400s remain a promise. And in Tigray and Amhara, the war goes on, indifferent to the announcements of capitals.