Khodakovsky criticizes Chechen fighters for poor training

The Chechen law enforcers sent to take part in the hostilities in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol were recruited from private security units and patrol-and-post service; their preparedness for the mission is very low, Alexander Khodakovsky, the commander of the "Vostok" (East) battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), has stated.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on March 13, several Telegram channels, including the “Grozny” ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company), posted videos stating that Ramzan Kadyrov arrived in Ukraine and met Chechen law enforcers participating in the special military operation. Tonight, Ramzan Kadyrov has confirmed that the video was filmed in Gostomel in the Kiev Region. The leader of Chechnya has also said that his adviser Adam Delimkhanov, a State Duma member from Chechnya, is in Ukraine.

Alexander Khodakovsky, the commander of the "Vostok" battalion in the Donetsk People's Republic has stated that the Chechen fighters arrived at Mariupol even more weakened than the DPR's forces stationed there.

"Their vehicles are lightly armoured; they have no support means and no pre-treatment ... that is, they have practically no fire weapons attached; they are here lightly equipped. Yesterday [on March 15] one (of) their KamAZ trucks flew into the city at breakneck speed, rushed in one direction, then, in another one, got stuck somewhere, and was shot... Everyone who was the 300th [wounded] was evacuated, but the KamAZ truck was left there," Mr Khodakovsky said in a video clip posted on YouTube on March 16 on the YouTube channel of the "Komsomolskaya Pravda".

"They are ordinary people, who had lived peaceful life; they spent some money on them, equipped them and invited to take part in the war. In fact, their degree of readiness for the mission is very low. They were generally oriented towards second-echelon tasks, that is, to conduct cleansings, but it so happened that they ended up in the role of the first echelon. And there's nothing to be done about it," the battalion commander has concluded.

According to his story, Kadyrov has many strong and trained fighters, but these are not those who had been sent to Mariupol.

"Those sent to Mariupol are not from this category. This is a hodgepodge <...> not prepared and not equipped in accordance with the mission," Alexander Khodakovsky wrote in his Telegram channel.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 17, 2022 at 05:55 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.