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In the war against Ukraine, Vladimir Putin can count on the logistical support of Chechnya. Its leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced that he had sent fighters to the ground to help the Russian soldiers. Can these men play a decisive role in the conflict? Wassim Nasr, an analyst at France 24, explains it.
As the international community continues to harden its tone and bolster support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, Moscow can count on certain allies. Among them, Belarus, but also Chechnya. The strong man of this small Caucasian republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, has decided to send troops to Ukraine to help the Russian Army.
The announcement was made on Friday, February 25, in the Chechen capital, Grozny.
“Ramzan Kadyrov has put on a great show, with thousands of fighters,” says Wassim Nasr.
“I take this opportunity to advise President Zelensky, until he is the president of Ukraine, to call our president, Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, and apologize to him,” he said at the podium, according to videos and comments collected by various international media.
“Хочу дать совет пока ещё действующему президенту Зеленскому, пока он не стал экс-президентом Украины, чтобы он позвонил скорее нашему президенту, верховному главнокомандующему Владимиру Владимировичу Путину и попросил извинений” – заявил Рамзан Кадыров.
Video: РБК pic.twitter.com/UWR0Ga34Rn
— Новая Газета (@novaya_gazeta) February 25, 2022
Chechens: a psychological role in the conflict?
Four days later, the soldiers were effectively deployed on Ukrainian territory. “They themselves spread images of their deployment,” Nasr said.
“According to the videos, they are mainly present in the north of the country, in the Pripyat exclusion zone, where the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is located, and in northern Crimea.”
“Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation. Chechen fighters therefore participate in the war effort in their country by serving as auxiliaries to the Russian Army,” analyzes Wassim Nasr, who recalls that Chechen forces had already participated in several Russian military operations, especially in Syria, in the form of military police.
If “their exact military role is unknown at the moment” and that “their military contribution on the ground has so far not been seen”, these men, known for committing abuses in their country, “could play a psychological role in the conflict” , considers Nasr, “because of his reputation for ferocity in combat.”
Jihadi fighters?
Wassim Nasr insists that “they are certainly radical fighters, they are certainly responsible for exactions in Chechnya before being in operations with the Russian army” but “they are not jihadists”.
Remember that the jihadists themselves, whether they are from Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State “consider them apostates and fight against them in Chechnya, Dagestan or the Caucasus.”
Wassim Nars also points out that Chechen President Kadyrov, when rallying his troops, announced that he would give bonuses for every Ukrainian soldier killed and every tank destroyed, showing that “his motives are not jihadi.”
This article was adapted from its French original