Reports of Chechen involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine are allegedly piquing interest among Chechens opposed to Moscow-supported warlord Ramzan Kadyrov to sign up on the Ukrainian side. Some of the vigorously anti-Russian Chechens are reportedly battle-hardened jihadi fighters from the Syrian civil war.
Kadyrov, an eccentric strongman and close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin who has cheerfully described himself as “Putin’s foot soldier,” announced Saturday his fighters had been dispatched to assist the Russian invasion of Ukraine and had already seen action.
In this Friday, May 10, 2019 file photo, Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov speaks during a meeting in Grozny, Russia. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev)
Russian state television broadcast images that it claimed showed at least 12,000 Chechen fighters assembled in the regional capital of Grozny, supposedly mustering for their march to Ukraine.
Kadyrov said Putin “took the right decision” to attack Ukraine, and “we will carry out his orders under any circumstances.”
“As of today, as of this minute, we do not have one single casualty, or wounded, not a single man has even had a runny nose,” he boasted Saturday, although he admitted Tuesday that at least two of his troops had been killed, with “six more injured to various degrees.”
Ukrainian media, with some backing from outside observers, claimed an entire column of Chechen armor was wiped out:
I've been receiving messages from Chechen sources that after huge losses of Kadyrov's personal "army" (in particular: @ 70 of them were reported charred alive after a single Bayraktar strike), most of the rest returned across the border. Scenes like this corroborate such reports. https://t.co/hPLPEz8V9g
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) February 27, 2022
Ukraine’s Armed Forces on Saturday claimed Chechen Gen. Magomed Tushayev of the 141st Motorized Regiment of the Chechen National Guard was killed northwest of Kyiv. Ukrainian media described Tushayev as “one of Ramzan Kadyrov’s top warlords,” while human rights activists recalled him as a key player in “the campaign of terrorizing the LGBTQ+ community in Chechnya.” The Chechen government has yet to confirm his death at press time.
Russian general from Chechnya Magomed Tushayev won’t be coming home from #Ukraine.
What have you lost in Ukraine, Magomed, huh? #RussiaGoHome #StopRussia #UkraineUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/RD7mhPJLBa— olexander scherba🇺 (@olex_scherba) February 26, 2022
“I believe that a new order is needed, without further ado. It is necessary to move on to large-scale measures to destroy the Nazis and terrorists, to liberate the cities,” Kadyrov grumbled, tacitly admitting the war effort was not proceeding as he anticipated.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky attends the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels on December 15, 2021. (JOHANNA GERON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov claimed on Tuesday that two “elite Chechen death squads” sent to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been “neutralized” using intelligence provided by Ukraine sympathizers inside Russia’s FSB security service.
“They were divided in two groups, we were tracking them. One group was handled near Hostomel, the other one is in our sights,” Danilov said.
“We won’t give up our president, our country. This is our land, be gone,” he told the Chechens and their Russian masters.
These developments spurred interest among “young Chechen men already preparing to head to fight for Ukraine,” as Vice News alleged Wednesday:
“Kadyrovtsy are in Ukraine fighting alongside the Russians, that makes it every Chechen man’s responsibility to confront the enemies of Chechnya and our faith,” according to Ramzan, a former jihadist fighter in Syria from Chechnya quietly living in exile in Turkey, speaking under a pseudonym. “Kadyrov and his clan control the [Russian-loyal security services] and hunt his political opponents in Russia, in Chechnya, and in Europe.”
“But now they are in Ukraine for Putin and we can hunt them again,” he said. “We know these men [sent to kill Zelenskyy] who work for Putin’s dog [Kadyrov].”
"Now they are in Ukraine for Putin and we can hunt them again."https://t.co/h5vMhSov2j
— VICE News (@VICENews) March 2, 2022
Vice News estimated at least a few hundred Chechens opposed to Kadyrov’s “increasingly brutal rule” were ready to answer Ukraine’s call for foreign volunteers, and claimed there could be thousands – a rush to the front likely to be slowed by Ukraine’s struggle to vet aspiring foreign legionnaires for criminal and terrorist connections.
Terrorism might be a sticking point for Ukraine’s effort to recruit Chechens with military experience, as many of them fought in Syria under the banner of jihadi groups, including the Islamic State. In fact, one of the top ISIS military commanders was a half-Chechen veteran of Georgia’s special forces named Abu Omar al-Shishani. His career in ISIS military leadership was evidently ended by a U.S. drone strike in 2016.
Vice News noted that some experienced Chechen fighters eager to leave Syria so they can battle Kadyrov’s forces in Ukraine are stuck in Syria because Turkey is reluctant to let them pass through its borders.
“There’s a lot of guys inside Idlib who would rather be in Ukraine than Syria, but they are not sure if the Turks will let them pass the border on their way,” said a Syrian named Abu Marwan who claims to have fought alongside the Chechens.
“They are unsure if they will be arrested. Most of the guys who are left did not join ISIS, but they did come to fight jihad and have associations. They’re asking the Turks for permission to move,” he said.
“There’s a lot of guys that would be fine to let leave, they’re dangerous if you’re Russian or a Kadyrov fighter, but they’re Chechens focused on Chechen issues not international jihadist dogma. But there are also a handful anyone would want to arrest in transit,” an unnamed regional security official told Vice.
Other members of the Chechen diaspora would have less trouble getting to Ukraine, although some might lack the military experience the Ukrainian government is looking for. Chechens living in Europe and Turkey told Vice they felt a strong imperative to get revenge against “Putin and his dog” Kadyrov for driving their families out of Chechnya.
“I am going to Ukraine this weekend, inshallah. Each night, all Chechen people pray for the chance to defeat Russia. My MMA gym will be empty next week if the French police do not interfere,” a pseudonymous Chechen mixed martial arts fighter living in France declared.
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