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| Europe |
| Chechens fighting on both sides in Ukraine |
| 2014-08-31 |
| Eighteen years after the signing of the accord that ended the Chechen war, a veteran Chechen field commander has issued a reminder that there are two sides to the ongoing struggle for the hearts and minds of the Chechen people. In a statement dated August 28, Isa Munayev appeals to the United States and "the countries of the democratic world" to provide "comprehensive military assistance" to the Ukrainian people, whom Munayev calls victims of Russian imperial aggression, just as the Chechens were. Munayev played a key role in the defense of Grozny at the start of the 1999-2000 war, and continued fighting after the resistance forces retreated south to the mountains, acquiring a reputation for courage and tactical skills. In late 2007, however, he distanced himself from Doku Umarov following the latter's abandonment of the cause of Chechen independence and proclamation of a Caucasus Emirate. Munayev left Chechnya soon afterward. Meanwhile, evidence continues to mount of the presence on the side of the pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine of hundreds of fighters sent by Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov. Those fighters are apparently primarily volunteers from among the various police and security forces under Kadyrov, who has consistently denied that there are any "Chechen battalions" in Ukraine, even after a Financial Times article quoted a fighter named Zelimkhan who said he and his comrades had been sent to Ukraine in mid-May on Kadyrov's orders. Kadyrov has admitted, however, that a few dozen Chechen volunteers living outside Russia have traveled to Ukraine on their own initiative to fight, and that a handful of them have been killed. Ingush chief Yunus-Bek Yevkurov similarly said in early June that 25 residents of his republic had travelled to Ukraine to fight, and four had been killed. In a subsequent interview, Yevkurov, a former Russian military-intelligence officer, affirmed his readiness to go to Ukraine himself "to defend those who are being humiliated and killed." Unconfirmed reports suggest that Kadyrov's men did not distinguish themselves in battle. There have been several reports over the past few weeks that Chechen units fighting under the command of Russian officers in eastern Ukraine have been disbanded and sent home for cowardice or desertion, surrendered to Ukrainian security forces, or asked for safe passage to the Russian border. Kadyrov rejected as false reports that Chechens had surrendered. he declared that "once a Chechen takes up arms, he doesn't surrender." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #1 Must be the fokkers just like fighting. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2014-08-31 11:05 |