23:12, 8 August 2023

Kadyrov announces number of fighters sent to Ukraine

Ramzan Kadyrov at the meeting in Grozny. Screenshot of the video posted on Kadyrov's Telegram channel on August 7, 2023 https://t.me/RKadyrov_95/3805

Since the start of the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, a total of 29,000 fighters have been sent to the SMO zone from Chechnya, including 13,000 volunteers, Ramzan Kadyrov has announced.

In his turn, Magomed Daudov, the Chairman (Speaker) of the Chechen Parliament, who is also the head of the regional SMO headquarters, has added that over 7,000 fighters are on the frontline.

Mr Kadyrov has added that since the start of the SMO, Chechnya has formed "three battalions and three regiments under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD)." "Besides, three more units have been formed through the "Natsgvardiya" (Russian National Guard), numbering over 5,000 fighters," he has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the next group of volunteers sent on July 25 included Khusein Zakaev, an Akhmed Zakaev's nephew, who was detained by Chechen law enforcers in May this year. Also among those sent to Ukraine was Valid Kuruev, a former Deputy Mufti of Chechnya, whose disappearance became known in May, after Khusein Djambetov returned to Chechnya.

On August 7, Abubakar Yangulbaev, a lawyer, said that his uncle and three cousins had been sent to Ukraine – law enforcers detained them and, after three days of training, sent them to the SMO zone in Ukraine.

Back in December 2022, Kadyrov claimed that all the participants in the SMO in Ukraine from Chechnya, including law enforcers, had gone there voluntarily.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 8, 2023 at 00:20 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot