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The 78-year-old speaker, known for his hardline nationalist stance, has been absent from the public eye in recent months.

However, on Tuesday, the Somali Senate released a brief statement and photographs showing Abdullahi meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the State Duma—the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly.

According to the Senate’s statement, the two parliamentary leaders discussed strengthening bilateral ties between Somalia and Russia, particularly in legislative cooperation and representation.

Both sides agreed to form a Somalia–Russia friendship committee aimed at promoting long-term parliamentary and governmental cooperation, the statement said.

“They emphasized the importance of exchanging experiences and best practices in legislation and public representation,” the statement read. “The Speaker expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and noted that enhanced cooperation would further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.”

Russian Footprint Expanding in the region

Abdullahi’s visit comes amid a noticeable uptick in Russian diplomatic activity in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa region.

While the autonomous regions of Puntland and Jubaland have recently severed ties with Mogadishu, and Somaliland continues to operate independently, Moscow has stepped up its efforts to gain influence—particularly in southern Somalia’s troubled part.

Russia had earlier attempted to court Somaliland, eyeing the strategic Berbera port along the Red Sea, but Hargeisa rebuffed those overtures in favor of a potential U.S. partnership.

In contrast, Somalia’s federal government has welcomed Russian delegations.

In April 2025, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, visited Mogadishu and met with senior Somali officials, including President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed that Foreign Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi hosted a luncheon in honor of the Russian delegation, although details of the meetings remain undisclosed.

Earlier this year, in February, the Russian state news agency Sputnik launched its first African editorial center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Analysts view this move as part of Moscow’s effort to expand its information and influence operations in Africa, amplifying pro-Russian narratives in the region amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Who is Vyacheslav Volodin?

The man hosting Speaker Abdullahi in Moscow, Vyacheslav Volodin, is more than just a parliamentary leader.

He is a key figure within Russia’s political elite, closely aligned with President Vladimir Putin and often categorized among the “siloviki”—a term used for officials from Russia’s security and intelligence services who now dominate political power.

A former Deputy Prime Minister and former Head of the Government Executive Office, Volodin is a senior member of the ruling United Russia party. He is widely known for his unwavering support for Putin and once famously declared: “If there is Putin, there is Russia. If there is no Putin, there is no Russia.”

Volodin has been sanctioned by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and other Western governments for his role in backing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and supporting repressive domestic legislation.

Also present at the Tuesday meeting was Somalia’s Ambassador to Moscow, Mohamed Abukar Subeyr, a former employee at the Somali Prime Minister’s Office.

According to parliamentary sources and insiders at the Somali embassy, Subeyr played a key role in facilitating the meeting.

He is reportedly facing financial and personal challenges, and has been linked to dealings with Russian state security. On one occasion, he was even reported to have met with representatives of the Wagner Group.

The visit by Somalia’s upper house speaker to Moscow marks a potential pivot in Somalia’s foreign alignment, as Russia seeks to fill political vacuums and expand its influence across Africa.

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Prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who uses the name War Gonzo, called the Bryansk collapse “sabotage.”

Reuters could not independently verify the Baza or Pegov’s reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Since the war began in February 2022, there have been continued cross-border shelling, drone strikes and covert raids from Ukraine into the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions that border Ukraine.

Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Telegram that efforts to find and rescue victims in the Bryansk incident continued throughout the night, and that some 180 personnel were involved in the operation.

Among those killed was the locomotive driver, Russia’s state news agencies reported, citing medics.

Social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to help others climb out of the Bryansk train’s damaged carriages in the dark and firefighters looking for ways to reach passengers.

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This has drawn increasing interest from global powers, including the United States. As regional dynamics shift and great-power competition intensifies, Somaliland’s bid for recognition is gaining new currency. Aleksi Ylönen has studied politics in the Horn of Africa and Somaliland’s quest for recognition. He unpacks what’s at play.

What legal and historical arguments does Somaliland use?

The Somali National Movement is one of the main clan-based insurgent movements responsible for the collapse of the central government in Somalia. It claims the territory of the former British protectorate of Somaliland. The UK had granted Somaliland sovereign status on 26 June 1960.

The Somali government tried to stomp out calls for secession. It orchestrated the brutal killing of hundreds of thousands of people in northern Somalia between 1987 and 1989.

But the Somali National Movement declared unilateral independence on 18 May 1991 and separated from Somalia.

With the collapse of the Somali regime in 1991, the movement’s main enemy was gone. This led to a violent power struggle between various militias.

This subsided only after the politician Mohamed Egal consolidated power. He was elected president of Somaliland in May 1993.

Egal made deals with merchants and businessmen, giving them tax and commercial incentives to accept his patronage. As a result, he obtained the economic means to consolidate political power and to pursue peace and state-building. It’s something his successors have kept up with since his death in 2002.

What has Somaliland done to push for recognition?

Successive Somaliland governments continue to engage in informal diplomacy. They have aligned with the west, particularly the US, which was the dominant power after the cold war, and the former colonial master, the UK. Both countries host significant Somaliland diaspora communities.

The US and the UK have for decades flirted with the idea of recognising Somaliland, which they consider a strategic partner. However, they have been repeatedly thrown back by their respective Somalia policies. These have favoured empowering the widely supported Mogadishu government to reassert its authority and control over Somali territories.

This Somalia policy has been increasingly questioned in recent years, in part due to Mogadishu’s security challenges. In contrast, the Hargeisa government of Somaliland has largely shown it can provide security and stability. It has held elections and survived as a state for the last three decades, though it has faced political resistance and armed opposition.

As new global powers rise, Somaliland administrations have pursued an increasingly diverse foreign policy, with one goal: international recognition.

Hargeisa hosts consulates and representative offices of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Taiwan, the UK and the European Union, among others.

The government has also engaged in informal foreign relations with the United Arab Emirates. The Middle Eastern monarchy serves as a business hub and a destination of livestock exports. Many Somalilanders migrate there.

Somaliland maintains representative offices in several countries. These include Canada, the US, Norway, Sweden, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Taiwan. Hargeisa has alienated China because it has collaborated with Taiwan since 2020. Taiwan is a self-ruled island claimed by China.

On 1 January 2024, Somaliland’s outgoing president Muse Bihi signed a memorandum of understanding with Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed for increased cooperation. Bihi implied that Ethiopia would be the first country to formally recognise Somaliland. The deal caused a sharp deterioration of relations between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu.

Abiy later moderated his position and, with Turkish mediation, reconciled with his Somalia counterpart, President Hassan Mohamud.

What’s behind US interest in Somaliland?

The US, like other great powers, has been interested in Somaliland because of its strategic location. It is on the African shores of the Gulf of Aden, across from the Arabian Peninsula. Its geographical position has gained currency recently as Yemeni Houthi rebels strike maritime traffic in the busy shipping lanes. Somaliland is also well located to curb piracy and smuggling on this global trade route.

The US Africa Command set up its main Horn of Africa base at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti in 2002. This followed the 11 September 2001 attacks.

In 2017, China, which had become the main foreign economic power in the Horn of Africa, set up a navy support facility in Djibouti. This encouraged closer collaboration between American and Somaliland authorities. The US played with the idea of establishing a base in Berbera, which hosts Somaliland’s largest port.

With Donald Trump winning the US presidential election in 2024, there were reports of an increased push for US recognition of Somaliland. This would allow the US to deepen its trade and security partnerships in the volatile Horn of Africa region.

Since March 2025, representatives of the Trump administration have engaged in talks with Somaliland officials to establish a US military base near Berbera. This would be in exchange for a formal but partial recognition of Somaliland.

What are the risks of US recognition of Somaliland?

Stronger US engagement with Somaliland risks neglecting Somalia.

Mogadishu depends on external military assistance in its battle against the advancing violent Islamist extremist group, Al-Shabaab. It also faces increasing defiance from two federal regions, Puntland and Jubaland.

US recognition would reward Hargeisa for its persistent effort to maintain stability and promote democracy. However, it could encourage other nations to recognise Somaliland. This would deliver a blow to Somali nationalists who want one state for all Somalis.

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The claim was made by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a separatist Tuareg rebel alliance fighting against the Malian government in the region.

The FLA accused Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries of intercepting two passenger vehicles traveling from Gao to Algeria and killing those on board, including women and children.

Army chief Gen. Oumar Diarra dismissed the allegations as “unfounded,” calling them part of a disinformation campaign “relayed by terrorist networks, allies, and sponsors.”

For years, Mali has battled both Tuareg separatists seeking an independent state in the north and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

After military coups in 2020 and 2021, the ruling junta hired Russian Wagner mercenaries to bolster security.

However, both Malian forces and Wagner fighters have frequently been accused by rights groups of committing atrocities against civilians, which they deny.

Last month, Mali, along with Burkina Faso and Niger—also under military rule—quit the West African regional bloc ECOWAS after rejecting demands to restore civilian governance.

The departure dealt a significant blow to the 50-year-old alliance.

Mali’s military rulers have also severed ties with former colonial power France, whose troops left in 2022 after a decade-long counterinsurgency campaign.

The following year, the junta expelled all 12,000 UN peacekeepers from the country.

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Also, Moscow provides diplomatic and financial support to students who have studied in Russia in Africa, to become a bridge between Russia and Africa, at a time when Russia has already been able to gain the attention of North Africa, which rejected the French and welcomed them. the bases he left in Russia.

On the other hand, one of the objectives of the countries that teach their language and also provide them with scholarships is to achieve in the future or in the near future that the individuals benefiting from the scholarships have a role in facilitating the interests of their countries and the country. learned from them for free.

In any case, the Russian government plans to increase its influence on leading countries in the African continent, and is currently preparing young people who want to take over the leadership of their countries in the future, so that these young people can fulfill their w

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Niger has been a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in West Africa. Military officers announced to have overthrown the government of President Mohamed Bazoum and detained him.

The US and France, the former colonial power, both have military bases in the uranium-rich country.

The unverified voice message from Mr Prigozhin appeared on a Telegram app channel associated with the group, saying the takeover was long overdue.

According to the Reuters news agency, the speaker had the same distinctive intonation and turn of phrase in Russian as the Wagner boss.

“What happened in Niger is nothing more than the struggle of the people of Niger against colonisers, who tried to impose their own rules of life,” AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

“In order to maintain their actual slave system in the territories of these states, they deploy various foreign missions, which number tens of thousands of soldiers.”

He went on to hail the “effectiveness” of Wagner, explaining a thousand of its fighters “are able to restore order and destroy terrorists, preventing them from harming the civilian population”, AFP reports.

The release of voice message coincided with the publication on Telegram of photographs showing Mr Prigozhin in St Petersburg at the Africa-Russia summit.

He was seen shaking hands with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a senior official in the Central African Republic (CAR).

It is the first confirmed sighting of Mr Prigozhin in Russia since Wagner’s failed mutiny in June.

Wagner has a security contract in CAR and through its network of companies allegedly trades there in conflict minerals and timber, as well as making beer and vodka.

The shadowy mercenary group is also in Mali, where it is believed to have about 1,000 soldiers and where its troops have been accused of carrying out atrocities.

Their deployment in December 2021 had followed a breakdown in diplomatic relations between Mali’s military regime and France, prompting the former colonial power to withdraw its counter-terror troops.

According to Reuters, the Wagner boss was heard in a video released earlier this month telling his men, now exiled to Belarus, that they should gather their strength for a “new journey to Africa”.

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Already vast and overcrowded displacement camps are growing rapidly as people try to find food and other aid.

The country is heavily dependent on imports and now the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal, blocking grain exports from Ukraine, is likely to further exacerbate hunger and the humanitarian crisis. Ukrainian wheat has been an important source of food for some of the most vulnerable in the country and with almost 2 million children in Somalia suffering from malnutrition, failure to renew the deal could be catastrophic.

More than 1.3 million people have fled their homes in the first half of 2023 – already nearly as many as in all of 2022 and more than triple the rate of displacement in 2021.

• Almost 60% of these have been displaced by severe flooding or extreme drought, as climate change increases suffering in the region. In Bay region of southern Somalia over 100,000 people have fled their homes due to the ongoing drought – the region’s worst in 70 years – while in Hiraan more than 260,000 people have been displaced by flash flooding.
• More than 40% of people are fleeing rising conflict and insecurity. Over 200,000 people have been displaced in the Sool region of Somaliland as the Somaliland National Army and armed clan militia battle over the regional capital of Las Anod. Fighting between the internationally backed government of Somalia and Al Shabaab has also caused thousands of people across the country to flee.

With over 7,400 people fleeing every day this year, aid agencies are struggling to meet the enormous needs.

While humanitarian aid and the resilience of local communities has helped avert famine, there is a real risk that any progress could be rapidly undone.

Aliow Mohamed, Islamic Relief’s Country Director in Somalia, says, “The threat of hunger is still knocking at the door. The drought has destroyed the livelihoods of millions of people, and others are fleeing conflict to try and find safety. The camps are filled with people who are destitute and have nothing left, and aid agencies are running out of resources to help them.”

At least half of Somalia’s population (8.5 million people) now needs aid. Yet despite a major pledging conference for the Horn of Africa earlier this year, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia is still less than one third funded – with the vast majority of funds coming from the United States. Islamic Relief is calling on other major donors to step up, and for the international community to increase efforts to extend the Black Sea grain deal.

Mohamed says: “It is heartbreaking to see people who have fled their homes and travelled miles to a camp in the belief that there will be food and water there, then realising there is no support for them. We have seen mothers arrive in camps with their children, then have to wait months for support and lose one or two children to hunger or disease in the meantime.”

Islamic Relief works all over Somalia, including in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the conflict hit south of the country in Baidoa, Dinsor and Bardhere. The organisation provides food, cash, livelihoods, education, health, and water and sanitation projects helping more than 800,000 people.

1.349 million people have been displaced within Somalia in the first half of 2023, according to monitoring by UNHCR – a monthly average of 224,833 people displaced. Last year, 1.816 million people were displaced, with a monthly average of 151,333, In 2021, 874,000 people were displaced, with a monthly average of 72,833.

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To his surprise, “I found peace but no food,” the 30-year-old told The Associated Press. He stood near the withered maize he tried to plant around his family’s makeshift shelter of branches and plastic sheeting outside one of the world’s largest refugee camps.

As global food insecurity suffers another shock with Russia’s termination of a deal to keep grain flowing from Ukraine, the hundreds of thousands of Somalis who have fled climate change and insecurity offer a stark example of what happens when aid runs low.

Omar, a farmer, was forced to give most of his produce as tax to al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-linked extremists who have controlled parts of Somalia for years, and the little that remained wasn’t enough to feed his family during Somalia’s worst drought in decades. The final blow came when al-Shabab, under pressure from a Somali military offensive, killed his younger brother.

Dadaab is home to more than 360,000 registered refugees and many unregistered ones. The camp was established in the 1990s, its permanence reflected in the neat rows of corrugated iron homes in its older sections.

Food rations, however, are more fragile. They have been cut from 80% of the minimum daily nutritional requirement to 60% due to reduced donor funding, according to the World Food Program. Traditional donors have been quick to bring up hunger in places like Somalia when criticizing Russia for ending the grain deal, however they have focused their giving elsewhere, including Ukraine. In May, a high-level donors’ conference for Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia raised less than $3 billion of the $7 billion that organizers wanted for humanitarian aid.

Refugee camps like Dadaab, especially in Africa, will see further cuts in aid because of Russia’s action, the WFP’s executive director, Cindy McCain, told the AP on Tuesday. Under the recently ended deal, WFP was procuring 80% of its global wheat supply from Ukraine.

“There are going to be some serious shortages and, in some cases, none at all as a result of this,” she said, adding that it was too soon to predict what those cuts would be.

Already, “families that used to prepare probably three meals a day have now reduced to prepare either two meals or a meal a day, and that’s quite extreme,” the WFP head of programs at Dadaab, Colin Buleti, told the AP at a food distribution center during a visit last week.

Families receive monthly rations of sorghum, rice, beans, maize and vegetable oil, alongside a cash transfer for buying fresh produce that has been halved to $3.

Aid workers say the reduced rations are likely to worsen malnutrition. In one of Dadaab’s three sections, Hagadera, 384 malnutrition cases were reported in the first half of the year, already exceeding the 347 reported there all of last year, according to the International Rescue Committee, which provides health services.

The malnutrition ward in Hagadera is filled beyond capacity with crying babies. It is meant to handle 30 patients and is currently at 56.

Dool Abdirahman, 25, arrived with her malnourished baby daughter in November. The family fled Somalia when the infant developed hydrocephalus, or a buildup of fluid on the brain. Until then, the family had struggled to hold out at home, Abdirahman said.

The International Rescue Committee’s health manager in Dadaab, Barbara Muttimos, said that even the nutrient-dense peanut paste used to treat children who are acutely and severely malnourished is threatened by reduced funding and the growing number of hungry people.

But for mothers like Mabina Ali Hassan, 38, the conditions in Dadaab are better than the nonexistent services back home, where conflict has destabilized the country over the past three decades.

“I regret going back to Somalia in 2016 when I heard it was safer,” the mother of eight said. “This baby was born there and couldn’t get health care because the hospitals were not equipped.” She said she returned to the refugee camp when her son, now a year old, became malnourished.

Maryan Mohamed, 30, said she was lucky to be among the newly registered refugees. The former teashop owner and her six children arrived at Dadaab in March and for four months lived off food handouts from friends who were already registered.

“While stability welcomed me here, I’m still striving for the life I dreamed of,” she said.

The threat of insecurity remains, even for the refugees. Al-Shabab this month attacked a Somali military base just 7 miles (12 kilometers) from the Kenya border. Somali forces are under pressure to assume security responsibilities as an African Union peacekeeping force continues its withdrawal from the country.

Kenya’s government is now in discussions with the United Nations on how to integrate the hundreds of thousands of refugees into host communities in the future. The U.N. refugee agency says such integration is the best way to host refugees as donor funding shrinks.

___

Source: Associated Press

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The move was confirmed by Somali Foreign Minister Abshir Omar Huruse, who engaged with Russian authorities during his visit to Moscow in May.

The purpose of President Mohamud’s attendance at the summit aligns with Somalia’s need to address its frustration in acquiring weapons and ammunition to bolster the government’s fight against the militant group, Al-Shabab.

In May, Somali diplomats revealed that Russia had extended support to aid Somalia’s armed forces in their ongoing battle against the terrorist organization. Speculations have also surfaced about Russia potentially deploying Wagner mercenaries to train Somali forces, though Minister Huruse refrained from providing in-depth details about his discussions with Russian officials.

With President Mohamud at the helm, a government delegation, including Foreign Minister Huruse, senior Villa Somalia officials, and state media representatives, will embark on a mission to enhance media coverage of the Summit, ensuring that the Somali audience is well-informed about the Summit developments including potential propaganda against the west.

Quoted by Russia state news agency TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized the importance of gradually lifting the arms embargo on Somalia saying that “they have already become an obstacle to the Somali government’s efforts to stabilize the situation.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed gratitude for Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s decision to personally attend the event.

However, as this diplomatic push comes amid Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine, which has raised concerns about potential security implications in Europe, Mr. Lavrov continued to give his perspective against Western powers, explaining that the majority of developing nations comprehend the main factors driving the Ukraine crisis.

“We share our assessment of the situation, and I believe the vast majority of developing countries understand the primary causes of this crisis, which are rooted in the ambitions of the United States and its allies, by way of enlarging NATO in defiance of all previous guarantees, to recklessly cement their dominance not only in Europe but also in other regions,” he added.

Somalia is grappling with multiple hurdles, including political turmoil, governance challenges, and clan rivalries. The humanitarian situation is equally distressing, with a staggering 8.25 million people (50% of the population) requiring urgent humanitarian assistance, 6.6 million facing acute food insecurity, and 1.8 million children at risk of acute malnutrition through 2023.

Adding to the uncertainty, Russia’s recent withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Deal has disrupted Ukrainian agricultural exports to East African countries like Somalia, which have heavily relied on Ukrainian grain for sustenance, especially amidst the effects of global climate change.

Compounding the difficulties, Finland, a key humanitarian supporter of Somalia, declared its decision not to provide development aid to governments and countries supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, introducing further ambiguity for Mogadishu.

The Finland Foreign Ministry has committed to providing EUR 54 million for bilateral cooperation in Somalia, with a specific focus on state-building efforts and initiatives related to women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights from 2021 to 2024.

Additionally, Finland contributed EUR 6.6 million for projects related to Somalia Multi-Partner Fund (MPF) via the World Bank as well as projects intended to improving healthcare and education from 2021–2022.

As Somalia braces itself for the Russia-Africa Summit and navigates these complex challenges, the stakes are high, and the path forward remains unclear. The nation’s leaders must navigate a delicate balance amidst the evolving geopolitical landscape to secure much-needed support and assistance for the country’s stabilization and development.

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