The Russian embassy in Ethiopia has denied reports that local residents are lining up to join the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.

A photo shared on Telegram this week reportedly shows hundreds of men lining up outside the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. According to the Addis Standard, they went to the embassy to "interview" to take part in the war in Ukraine. 

A spokesperson for the Russian embassy told the website Al-Ain that "Russia has not advertised to recruit Ethiopians for the war in Ukraine, and the information circulating social media is false." She added that the Ethiopians went "to show their solidarity with Russia."

The embassy later issued a statement on Facebook informing Ethiopians that "while reiterating our gratitude to all concerned citizens of Ethiopia, we would like to inform that the Embassy does not accept any applications for recruitment in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation."

The reports come after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a televised meeting of the country's security council last month, that over 16,000 Middle Eastern volunteers had applied to fight for Russia in eastern Ukraine.

Putin replied: "If you see that there are people who want on a voluntary basis, especially not for money, to come and help [separatists in eastern Ukraine], well then you need to meet them halfway and help them move to the combat zones."

Anton Mardasov, a nonresident scholar in the Middle East Institute's Syria Program and a nonresident military affairs expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, told Al-Monitor that the comments made by Putin and Shoigu "were mostly political in nature."

He added, "It was not without reason that the figure of 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East — who had sent some kind of application through some strange channels of communication — was voiced, because that was the number of volunteers [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy spoke about on March 3."

• Some Kremlin Critics Question Ukraine War Amid Heavy Losses
• Russia Closes In on Ukraine's Besieged Mariupol