Chechen fighters in Ukraine prepare to wrest control of Mariupol and beyond | Ground Report
India Today
Fierce Chechen fighters, or Kadyrovites, have joined forces with Russian troops in Ukraine. Holed up in their secret base, their target is to seize not just Mariupol, but Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
More than six weeks after the Russian siege began, Ukrainian troops are continuing to put up a staunch resistance against invading Russian forces amid the ruins of Mariupol, a strategic port city that Vladimir Putin has his eye on.
With Mariupol proving to be a holdout territory, Putin is augmenting the might of the Russian military with the addition of Chechen fighters. Reputed to be fierce warriors, Chechen forces sent to Ukraine are yet to play a significant role. But that may soon change, as India Today learnt during a visit to a top secret Chechen base camp.
These Chechen fighters, or Kadyrovites, hailing from the Chechen Republic led by pro-Putin Ramzan Kadyrov, have taken over a hotel building at an undisclosed location in Russian-occupied Melitopol in south-eastern Ukraine.
READ | Mariupol mayhem: Why Putin is so desperate to capture this Ukrainian port city
Commander Murad of the Chechen forces told India Today that their main motivation for coming to Ukraine was the “shared history” between Chechnya and Ukraine. The Chechens had suffered under a “terrorist regime”, and now another one was in power in Kyiv, he claimed.
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