Chechen troops suffer heavy loss in Ukraine war; likely to be sent back to Russia

After the loss of hundreds of Kadyrovite fighters in the war in Ukraine, Chechen paramilitary forces are being sent back to Russia, reports claimed on Sunday. Fighters from Russia's Chechnya had entered the war to aid Russian troops and to rescue Kremlin's special military forces.

Chechen troops have been identified as members of the Russian National Guard, a paramilitary internal security force that purportedly communicates directly to President Vladimir Putin. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is known for his ardent support of the Kremlin, going so far as to call himself a Russian "foot soldier." Earlier in March, Kadyrov had claimed to have deployed at least 12,000 Chechen soldiers in Ukraine to support the invasion. However, the Kadyrovites have suffered heavy losses in the conflict and are being sent back to Moscow.

Last week, Chechen troops had helped release Kremlin forces trapped in Ukraine's worst-hit city of Mariupol. Sources informed that Russian military men were trapped in a Ukrainian encirclement for a while before the Kadyrov-led forces released them. The release surfaced simultaneously to Vladimir Putin's army's continued aggression in the city of Mariupol which sheltered 500 civilians.

On Monday, Kadyrov and his Chechen forces were reportedly assisting the Russian military near Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv. Many Kadyrovite fighters were also tasked with the assassination of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Earlier this month,  Ukraine's National Security and Defense Secretary Oleksiy Danilov. had confirmed that a group of Chechen assassins sent to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was eliminated. "An elite group of Kadyrov forces unit who planned to kill Zelensky was destroyed. This is our land. Get out of here," said

Chechnya's unwavering support to Kremlin

Kadyrov has deployed his forces abroad to support Kremlin military operations before – in Syria and Georgia.

The Chechnya Republic is ruled by Kadyrov with an iron fist policy and he is regarded as a former militant turned Russian ally with a force at his dispense. Historically speaking, two Chechen volunteer forces combatted Russia-backed separatists and regular Russian forces in the rebel region of Donbas in 2014. Putin's recent decision to announce Donbas as an autonomous state was lauded by Kadyrov. 

Image: AP