Daudov names total number of fighters sent from Chechnya to Ukraine

Magomed Daudov, Speaker of the Chechen Parliament, has announced, on air of the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company), the total number of fighters sent from the territory of Chechnya to Ukraine – a total of 8172 people.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Ramzan Kadyrov is regularly reporting about sending detachments of volunteers from Chechnya to Ukraine, including residents of other Russian regions.

Magomed Daudov, the Speaker, has announced the total number of people sent from the territory of Chechnya to the special military operation in Ukraine – 8172 people. He has specified that this number includes 1794 fighters from other regions and 1360 volunteers from Chechnya.

Two volunteers who are planning to participate in the special military operation in Ukraine have converted to Islam in Chechnya, the "Grozny-Inform" News Agency reported on its Instagram* page on June 8.

Ramzan Kadyrov is having difficulties with recruiting fighters from among ethnic Chechens, the "Kavkaz.Realii"** has reported with reference to Abubakar Yangulbaev, a lawyer and human rights defender from Chechnya.

The residents of Chechnya who wanted to fight for money had already left for Ukraine in March-April, including law enforcers, former convicts or prisoners serving their terms, including for grave crimes, as well as those whose sentence had not yet entered into force. They all left after making a deal with the authorities in order to avoid imprisonment, Mr Yangulbaev has stated. However, he believes that there is no system in Chechnya for forcing men to go to Ukraine.

*On March 21, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.

**The outlet has been included into the register of foreign media that act as a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 8, 2022 at 09:09 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.