Chechen special forces commander upbraids Russians unwilling to fight for their country

Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Chechen Akhmat special forces battalion, berated those who complain about the conditions Russian conscripts face in a video message on Sunday.

“Dear friends, if your 18-year-old children have been employed by the Defence Ministry yet shouldn’t defend their homeland, even after it’s been attacked by the enemy, then I have one question for you: What use are you and your children to this country?” Alaudinov asked.

Alaudinov suggested that if conscripts were dissatisfied with their earnings, they should sign up to become a professional soldier with the Russian Defence Ministry, adding that there were many young fighters in the Akhmat special forces.

Calling such young men heroes, he reminded doubters that conscripts were as much a part of the fighting force as any other soldier and were not there merely to bide their time. “We don’t need to turn 18-year-old male conscripts into babies who have to be given a dummy and sent to bed,” he said.

Russia would win the war whether people signed up without being mobilised or not, Alaudinov said, but added those who volunteered to fight would be able to look their children in the eye in the future.

“Everyone in our country should be queuing up to serve, both young and old. If you die for the fatherland and your faith in God, you will go to heaven,” he concluded.

Alaudinov, who was recently appointed deputy head of the Main Directorate for Military and Political Work at the Defence Ministry, is seen as a potential candidate to replace Ramzan Kadyrov as head of Chechnya in view of the strongman’s failing health.

Alaudinov has used the war in Ukraine to earn the Kremlin’s trust and has seen his profile rise considerably since he was appointed commander of the Akhmat special forces battalion, a unit of Russia’s National Guard under the direct control of Kadyrov, in June 2023.