Cameroon is the latest African nation to agree a military deal with Russia, signed last week in Moscow by the two countries' defence ministers.
The deal is said to cover weapons, intelligence-gathering and training, as well as the exchange of UN peacekeepers.
It does not come as a surprise to many Cameroonians. The nation also appears to have been inching toward Russia on the diplomatic and economic fronts, and had abstained in a UN vote on a resolution to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But the timing of the agreement, amid Russia's belligerence against its neighbour and accusations of war crimes, has been criticised by many in Cameroon.
Former colonial power France has historically been Cameroon's main military, economic and diplomatic partner.
However with this latest deal with Russia and previous military hardware purchases from China, President Paul Biya appears not to be severing ties with France but rather widening his sources of support.
This equipment is geared towards fighting insecurity in the country, with the Russian ambassador to Cameroon having previously pledged support in the war against Boko Haram militants in the north.
Another major crisis in the country's Anglophone regions - where separatists have waged war in recent years - has killed more than 6,000 people and forced at least 765,000 from their homes.
Source: BBC
