The Chechens fighting on the side of Ukraine did not see Kadyrov’s men on the front line

The prime minister of the self-proclaimed government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) in exile, Akhmed Zakayev, told Kholod that Chechen volunteers have been fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2014. At first they created two units: the battalion named after Sheikh Mansur and the battalion named after Dzhokhar Dudayev, but after the 24th full-scale invasion, the committee for the de-occupation of the ChRI formed several more new military groups.

Based on his sources, Zakayev said that the units that are being formed by Kadyrov’s authorities can be divided into two groups. The first is formed from among contract soldiers from all over the post-Soviet space: they are promised a higher salary than the national average. about the forced sending of “guilty” people to war reported Residents of Chechnya who are disloyal to the Kadyrov regime or “guilty” are sent to them (human rights activists also : for example, those who were previously detained for drugs, alcohol, negative statements about the authorities or belonging to LGBTQ+). These combined units are called “Chechen volunteers.”

The second category of military personnel from Chechnya are those whom Kadyrov maintains for his own protection. They suffered heavy losses at the very beginning of the full-scale invasion. But after those battles, according to Zakayev, they were no longer on the front line.

This is not the first mention of the fact that Kadyrov’s troops are not directly involved in hostilities and are rather imitating participation in the war. Chechen Adam Fredriksen, who is fighting on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, also said that he did not meet Kadyrov’s men at the front: “They only imitate participation in the war, filming staged videos for TikTok, where they shoot inexplicably where and why,” he told the Kavkaz.Realii publication in May . " The Insider wrote that Kadyrov’s army employs videographers who daily film Kadyrov’s “victorious” reports from two cameras.

Akhmed Zakayev, in an interview with Kholod, also confirmed that the Chechen units fighting for Ukraine have never encountered Kadyrov’s men on the battlefield.

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