Chechens in Ukraine
Kadyrov’s special forces are supposed to specifically hunt down Ukrainian politicians
Chechen fighters at morning prayers.
The notorious fighters of Putin’s bloodhound, Ramzan Kadyrov, are in Ukraine. They are said to be hunting prominent Ukrainians. In Grozny, more soldiers make their way to Ukraine.
Ramzan Kadyrov is Putin’s governor in Syria. While other Russian politicians wear at least a democratic mask in Russia, the Chechen Kadyrov has never hidden the fact that he is actually a warlord. He’s Putin’s man for the rough stuff. He and his father initially fought against the Kremlin with their own militia, but with their help Putin eventually won the war in Chechnya. Putin’s recipe back then: You only have to bribe the most dangerous opponent and win him over to your side.
He bribed the Kadyrovs with sole rule over Chechnya. Since Putin no longer shied away from military conflicts, Kadyrov not only secures the troubled Caucasus, but also accompanies Russia’s wars. Chechen fighters are and have been active in Syria in particular. Not only because they are considered tough warriors, as Sunni Muslims they have a natural advantage in Syria. The importance of Ramzan Kadyrov lies in the personal relationship with Putin. The end of the endless war in the Caucasus paved the way for Putin to come to power. Chechnya is an autonomous republic in Russia by status, but Ramzan Kadyrov’s system of rule, based on clan ties, religious ties and brute force, undermines official structures. Formally there is no private army, in fact it looks different. Kadyrov doesn’t need official channels, he never has to fear sanctions from the Kremlin – he has a direct line to the Russian president.
List of Ukrainian politicians
And now Kadyrov’s men are coming to Ukraine, or rather they are already there. A video shows Chechen special forces performing morning prayers in a forest in Ukraine on day 2 of the invasion. These men are said to be hunting down the most prominent opponents of Putin. Based on the well-known card game on which the USA printed the most wanted men of Saddam Hussein’s regime, each fighter is said to have received a packet of cards with the most important targets in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy confirmed the existence of this list when he said he was number one on it.
Videos from Grozny also show how more and more soldiers are making their way to Ukraine. The bearded warriors from the Caucasus appeared in Ukraine during the wars in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015. Kadyrov’s men, who are loyal to Putin, are on the side of the separatists, and the fighters of the defunct emirate are on the side of Kiev. The Chechen war continued in the distant country. The Kiev fighters announced that they would fight to the death against Putin’s henchmen, bound by blood feuds, and rallied in the Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion. Named after the man who fought for Chechnya’s independence and who was killed in 1996. The best known was the sniper Amina Okuyeva. She and her husband Adam fought in eastern Ukraine. Two later attempts were made to assassinate Adam Okuyeva. Amina Okuyeva was able to protect her husband from the first assassin, and died in the hail of bullets in the second attack.
When Russia’s support for the insurgents was still kept secret, Kadyrov’s men did not hide. They drove into the central square in Donetsk in their troop carriers, let the crowd cheer them on and fired their Kalashnikovs into the sky. This is a dangerous development for Kiev. Kadyrov’s men are not recruits who suddenly find themselves in the war. They are troops with real combat experience. They are particularly valuable to Putin because their losses have little impact on Russian society and the archaic society in the Caucasus is not nearly as sensitive to deaths.