After Ukraine, Chechnya," says a Chechen commander fighting on the side of Kiev. Chechen soldiers make it clear that they are in Ukraine to avenge nearly two centuries of Russian repression in their mountainous and often rebellious homeland - from population deportations carried out by Joseph Stalin in the 1940s to the destruction of their capital Grozny by Boris Yeltsin to the current brutal rule the governor of Moscow in Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
"We are tired of Russia," added the 45-year-old commander, who wanted to be identified only by his war name Torto, a reference to the castle near his hometown in Chechnya, which he abandoned as a young rebel after the Second Chechen War in 2009. .
"Russia is like a drunken neighbor. One day he breaks into your home and wants to set it on fire. Catch him, he runs away. The next day he comes sober and begs for your forgiveness. And then he comes back drunk with a gun and kills your wife and children," he said.
"This is the third Chechen war - and this time we will win," joins one of Tort's soldiers, a twenty-year-old man who introduced himself as Maga. He is a husband and father, and he says that his partner fully supports his decision to fight, although "she worries about me, she knows that we have to fight."
About 150 to 200 Chechen volunteers are fighting on the Ukrainian side, mostly sons of emigrants and grandsons of fighters who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars.
They are divided into three formations - the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion, named after the first post-Soviet president of independent Chechnya; Sheikh Mansur Battalion, which has come under fire for its ties to Islamist groups; and a more mysterious battalion that cooperates with the Ukrainian military intelligence service, GUR, and whose members dress in black and even when they are safe in Kiev, they move around armed with ski masks.
Torto says that he is disgusted by the Russian Chechen fighters, called "Kadirovci", especially because of the crimes they are associated with and claims that they are in Ukraine only for money
Foreign fighters in Ukraine agree that the Chechens are among the most dedicated and have an ideological approach to the fight, as do the 200 or so Belarusians fighting for Ukraine, and far more than most Western and Latin American volunteers. The latter are in Ukraine mainly for money. Volunteers from the West, mostly Americans and British, are generally veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, and with a few exceptions, they admit that they are in Ukraine because they did not like civilian life and do not want their experience and training to be wasted, although they also talk about the correctness of the Ukrainian goal.
Chechens are currently mostly fighting in Bakhmut, a bloody months-long battle that has caused high casualties on both sides and has been compared to the First World War for its brutality. As an avid connoisseur of military history, Torto says, "that's Verdun," referring to the longest battle of the First World War. "Real hell," adds Torto, who lived in Ukraine since 2016 and before that in Germany.
We are sitting in the so-called club room of the Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion, in a basement in the suburbs of Kiev, discussing why they are fighting this war far from their homeland, as well as the qualities and characteristics of other foreign volunteers who are fighting in Ukraine against Russia and what they think of the Chechens who are fighting for Vladimir Putin, and are estimated to have numbered around 12 at various times since Russia invaded Ukraine.
However, Torto and Maga have no qualms about being here to fight for Chechnya - Russia's defeat in Ukraine would inevitably lead to an armed uprising in their homeland in the North Caucasus, they argue, and not only there but across the Caucasus region in between Sea of Azov, Black Sea and Caspian Lake. "Sooner or later, we will all be free," said Torto, a large bearded man.
"Believe me, when Russia loses this war with Ukraine, it cannot exist as a country. It is impossible. It will fall apart," he adds, which is a view also expressed by the Belarusian volunteers with whom "Politiko" spoke two days earlier.
"We just need freedom. The people need freedom", said Torto.
Torto says that he is disgusted by Russian Chechen fighters, called "kadirovci" - and especially the crimes they are associated with. Called the "TikTok Army" due to the Internet promotion of their brutality, the Kadyrovs were accused of rape, murder and robbery in Bucha, and in July they were accused of torturing and castrating a Ukrainian prisoner of war in Privilija, in the Lugansk region, which they themselves announced on the Telegram channel.
Some investigators believe that the Kadyrovs, and Wagner's mercenaries, actually beheaded a Ukrainian prisoner earlier this month, which was published on the Internet. Maga and Torto claim that the Kadyrovs are "not real soldiers" but that they are fighting in Ukraine only for money.
The Kadyrovs are useful to Moscow for propaganda - warnings that Russia will treat Ukraine like Chechnya and destroy everything it can. Ramzan Kadyrov is being helped to promote his image as a warrior. The TikTok army is rarely close to the front lines, pro-Ukrainian Chechens point out, and only uses them for clearing operations to spread fear.
Besides Bakhmut, the proudest moments for pro-Ukrainian Chechen fighters in the war so far are the sabotage and reconnaissance operations north of Kiev at the beginning of the invasion and participation in the operations to liberate Izium, in northeastern Ukraine.
However, despite their dedication to the fight, the Chechens, unlike other foreign formations, are not officially part of the international legion, they are not paid by the Ukrainian government and have to procure their own equipment. "They give us ammunition when we are on the front lines," said Maga.
In order to stay in the fight, they manage, ask for donations and sell war items collected at the front on the Internet. Other foreign and Ukrainian units are generous, often allowing the Chechens to keep the lion's share of weapons and ammunition left over after Russian forces withdraw. "Russia is our biggest arms supplier," says Torto with a smile.
When asked why Ukrainian fighters are treated differently, Ukrainian officials say there are legal problems since they are technically Russian citizens. However, Torto believes it has to do with the widespread impression that Chechens are bloodthirsty bandits and robbers.
That hasn't deterred members of the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion or dampened their enthusiasm for the fight, and they hope their involvement in this war will slowly change the way many Ukrainians view the Chechens.
When it comes to the expected large Ukrainian counter-offensive, they have high expectations but say that it will not be easy to defeat Russia, which will mobilize more people. However, the fight must continue, said Torto.
"When I hear French or German experts talking about the fact that Russia must be saved and that its disintegration must not be allowed and how it can be built as a democratic state, I just shake my head," he said.
Prepared by: N. Bogetić
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