Chechens are being ripped from
their homes in “mass kidnappings” and forced to fight as “volunteers” in
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, human rights groups claim.
A group fighting Chechen
corruption and Russian propaganda called 1Adat said hundreds were forced to
fight in Ukraine.
President Putin’s protege,
Ramzan Kadyrov, 45, the leader of the Chechen Republic, is one of the Russian
despot’s most ardent followers and has often shared strong criticism of the
West.
His fighters, known as
Kadyrovites, reportedly called the people they kidnapped “scum” and sent them
to the front lines as “cannon fodder.”
1Adat said: Mass kidnappings
are taking place again throughout the republic.
“We have been informed about
hundreds of people from different regions of our occupied state.
The abductees must sign a
document stating that they are volunteers to be sent to Ukraine or they will be
threatened with making up criminal cases.
“Anyone who goes to Ukraine in
this way is being used on the front lines, like cannon fodder.
“The Kadyrovites themselves
say: ‘They are scum, they have no regrets, so there is nothing to worry about.’
That is, the kidnappings are carried out on purpose to send cannon fodder to
Ukraine.”
Human rights group Vayfond
said in May it had received “dozens” of messages from Chechens with no military
experience that they were being forced to go to war.
At the beginning of this
month, the British Ministry of Defense said: “The so-called ‘Kadyrovites’ began
to enter the territory of Ukraine in the early days of the large-scale military
invasion of Russia.
“In its efforts to overcome
the Ukrainian resistance, Russia has made extensive use of auxiliary personnel.
Kadryrov – accused of using
medieval torture on his enemies in Chechnya – has been called ‘the son Putin
never had’ for his devoted loyalty to the Kremlin leader
This includes the deployment
of Chechen troops, probably consisting of several thousand fighters, mainly
concentrated in the Mariupol and Luhansk sectors.
“The deployment of such
disparate personnel in combat demonstrates the significant problems with
Russia’s supply to Ukraine and likely contributes to a divided order that
continues to hamper Russian operations.”
Kadyrov has been accused of
using medieval torture on his enemies in Chechnya and has been called “the son
Putin never had” for his staunch loyalty to the Kremlin leader.
