"We've Been at War with Russia for 400 Years": How Chechens Fight on the Side of Ukraine

BBC report.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Ramzan Kadyrov actively talks about his "brothers" who are involved in the fighting. But some Chechens are now fighting against the Russian army, the BBC reports.

Many Chechens who are now fighting against Russia did so back in Chechnya. After the Second Chechen War, they moved to Ukraine. Two volunteer battalions formed in 2014 and went to the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. "There are many reasons for this. In short: We have been at war with the Russians for centuries, for 400 years," says Muslim Cheberloevsky, commander of the Sheikh Mansur volunteer battalion.

Chechens are now fighting not only as volunteers but also as members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. For example, members of the Mad Pack assault squad.

At the same time, they are criticized by their more religious countrymen, who believe Muslims should not fight for a Christian state.

"Ukraine sheltered a huge number of Muslims from Russia. Even from the point of view of Islam, one can consider the war on the side of Ukraine quite a proper one. It's a permissible war," notes Denis Sokolov, a social anthropologist and expert on the North Caucasus.

See the BBC article on how Chechens get to the front and what they fight for.