"The Third Chechen War and this time we will win": How many Chechens are fighting on the side of Ukraine
Chechen soldiers clearly understand that in Ukraine they have compensated for about two centuries of Russian oppression of their rebellious homeland - from the deportation of Chechnya population during Stalin's time, the destruction of their capital - the Terrible in Yeltsin to the current cruel reign of Ramzan Kadyrov. "We are tired of Russia. She is like a drunk neighbor who once comes to home and wants to burn him. You will catch him, he will run away.
The next day he returns sober and asks for forgive And he kills your wife and children, "says 45-year-old commander for Thoto call sign, who left Chechnya in 2009 and lives in Ukraine since 2016, and has lived in Germany before. "This is the Third Chechen War-and this time we will win," adds a 20-year-old fighter with a magazine Maga. On the side of Ukraine against the Russian Federation are now fighting from 150 to 200 Chechen volunteers.
They are part of three military formations - a battalion named after Johar Dudaev, Sheikh Manzur Battalion and the third - a secret battalion that cooperates with the Ministry of Defense. Foreign volunteers agree that Chechen are one of the most loyal and ideological in the fight, as well as about 200 Belarusians who are fighting for Ukraine. Now the Chechens are mostly involved in Bakhmut's hostilities. "It's a real hell," Thoto says.
Both Thoto and the magician doubt that the defeat of Russia in Ukraine will relentlessly lead to an armed uprising in their homeland in the North Caucasus. "Believe me, when Russia is losing this war with Ukraine, it cannot exist as a state. It is impossible. It will fall apart. We just need freedom. People need freedom," says Torto.
Chechen volunteers in Ukraine despise their compatriots, who are fighting on the side of the Russian Federation - the so -called "Cadyrivs" because of their atrocities, for video in Tiktoka, for advertising their cruelty on the Internet, for the murder of Ukrainians and in particular prisoners of war. Unlike other foreign formations, Chechen volunteers are not formally part of the international legion, do not receive salaries from the Ukrainian government and must be armed independently.
"To stay in battle, they are inventive, widespread donations and selling military objects online, gathered on the battlefield. Other foreign and Ukrainian units are generous, often allowing Chechens to keep the lion's share of any weapon and ammunition left by Russian troops during the retreat ", - the newspaper writes. The Chechen fighters themselves joke that the largest supplier of weapons for them is Rossi and has high hopes on the Ukrainian counter -offensive.
"When I hear French or German experts who talk about how to save Russia and not allow it to fall apart, and how it can be rebuilt as a democratic state, I only nod the head," Thoto says. Recall that Chechnya Kadyrov's head "ran" on Stalin because of the mass expulsion of the Chechen people in 1944 to Siberia and Kazakhstan. The Russian Federation stated that the Pope apologized for the words of the cruelty of Chechens and storms in Ukraine.