Commentators debated the versions of Khavaji Amayev's murder.

The murder in Lviv of field commander Khavaji Amayev from the Second Chechen War, who also fought in Syria and Ukraine, may be the result of a domestic quarrel, actions by Russian special services, or a conflict within Ukrainian security structures, social media users believe.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 15, it became known that field commander Khavaji Amayev from the Second Chechen War (included in the list of terrorists and extremists by Rosfinmonitoring), who also fought in Syria and Ukraine, was killed in Lviv. For the last 20 years, he had been on the federal wanted list in Russia.

Commentators expressed different versions of Amayev's murder

Two posts about the murder of Khavaji Amayev in Lviv were published on the "Caucasian Knot" Facebook page*, which has about 165,000 followers. As of 15:30 Moscow time on September 16, these posts collectively received 612 comments. Social media users expressed several versions of Amayev's murder.

The version involving Russian special services was supported by some participants in the discussion. "It's very hard to escape from the KGB and FSB, and as practice shows, sooner or later they find their client," wrote Oleksandr Lytvyn.

"Probably, the FSB is not involved here, right?" asked Vadim Bilyansky.

"Corrupt [vividly expressive term] killed him for Russian money," suggested Vasiliy Vasilyev.

Other commentators linked the reasons for the murder to the Ukrainian side and suggested an internal conflict in Ukraine. "This is an order from the SBU. GUR and SBU could not agree on the money. He was a member of GUR. But officially it will be – the hand of the Kremlin," believes T. R.

"Yes, it's all clear, but one thing is unclear: he went through so many battles, they couldn't kill him, he came to Ukraine, fought on the side of Ukraine, and the Ukrainians killed him in Lviv? Something doesn't add up," stated a user with the nickname დემონტაჟი.

Some users considered the reason for Amayev's murder to be a domestic conflict. "For a Vainakh who has fought in different countries for a long time, this is not quite an honorable death. He was stabbed by the refrigerator in the kitchen. After all, he fell not as a warrior in battle, but as a victim of domestic violence <…>," wrote Roman Ciorna.

"All his life, the sheep feared the wolf, and in the end, the shepherd slaughtered it. So here: he fought for Ukraine, and a Ukrainian slaughtered him," stated Roma Sasson.

Before Ukraine, Chechen field commanders participated in battles in Syria

The murder of Amayev was not the first attack in Ukraine on people associated with armed formations of supporters of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (the Grozny court ruled to recognize the organization "Chechen Republic of Ichkeria" as terrorist and banned it in Russia and 29 of its units in 14 European countries) (ChRI; recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia). Thus, on June 1, 2017, an attempt was made in Kyiv on the commander of the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia) Adam Osmaev and his wife Aminat Okuyeva. The attacker, posing as a French journalist, wounded Osmaev, after which Okuyeva opened fire in response.

On September 8, 2017, an explosion of a car in central Kyiv killed Timur Makhauri, who participated in the activities of the Sheikh Mansur Battalion (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia), but was not directly involved in battles in Donbas. On October 30 of the same year, a second attempt was made on Osmaev and Okuyeva near the village of Hlevakha outside Kyiv. Their car was shot at, Okuyeva was killed, and Osmaev was injured.

Some participants of Chechen formations died directly in battles in Ukraine. On February 1, 2015, in the area of Debaltseve, commander of the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion Isa Munayev, who participated in the first and second Chechen wars, was killed. After his death, Osmaev took command of the unit.

In April 2023, Arthur Pashkulyak with the call sign Makhno was killed in battles for Bakhmut. In March 2022, he joined the Sheikh Mansur Battalion as a volunteer, participated in battles near Kyiv and in the Zaporizhzhia region, and then fought as part of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as stated in a message published on April 15, 2023, on the website of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The participation of individuals from Chechnya in combat operations on both sides of the front was the subject of an archival video published on April 16, 2021, by "Caucasian Knot" "War in Ukraine: Kadyrovites against Ichkerians". "It so happened that in this war, not only "brother Slavs" but also Chechens found themselves on different sides of the front line. People from Chechnya have participated in this war almost since the beginning of the fighting – since May 2014. And they fought on both sides. Despite the human losses, the presence of Kadyrovites in the war was denied by the Chechen authorities. The participation in the conflict of supporters of Ichkeria (the organization is recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia) was acknowledged by both sides – only for Ukraine they were heroes, while Kadyrov called them criminals," the video states.

Ichkerians have repeatedly been targeted in Ukraine

In Syria, Khavaji Amayev not only fought against Bashar al-Assad's forces but also became the emir of the "Katayib Ibad ar-Rahman" brigade. After the start of hostilities in Ukraine, Amayev first joined the Sheikh Mansur Battalion and then moved to the Separate Special Purpose Battalion (OBON) of the Armed Forces of the ChRI (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia). He participated in battles near Kyiv and in Donbas, and at the end of August 2022, he was appointed deputy commander of OBON, RTVI reported on its website on September 14.

A similar path from Chechnya through Syria to Ukraine was taken by Rustam Azhiev (included in the list of terrorists and extremists by Rosfinmonitoring), also known as Abdul-Khakim al-Shishani. From 2013 to 2020, he fought in Syria, where he led a unit predominantly composed of Chechens called "Ajnad al-Kavkaz". In October 2022, Azhiev arrived from Syria in Ukraine, after which he was appointed deputy acting supreme commander of the ChRI and received the rank of colonel.

Timur Makhauri, later a participant in the Sheikh Mansur Battalion in Ukraine, was also connected to the Syrian war. In 2012, Makhauri came to Syria and, according to his own words, was involved in training people to fight against Bashar al-Assad's forces. After being released from a Turkish prison, he moved to Ukraine and joined the Sheikh Mansur Battalion.