Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov addresses service members while making a statement, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine, in Grozny, Russia February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Chingis Kondarov/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Nov 28 (Reuters) – Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Monday that another 3,000 of his fighters were ready to go to fight in Ukraine as part of new units of the Russian defence ministry and the Russian National Guard forces.
For Kadyrov, who has often described himself as President Vladimir Putin’s “foot soldier” and who has at times been a vocal critic of Russia’s performance in the conflict, the war in Ukraine is a bulwark against Western aggression.
“They (the fighters) have the best equipment and modern weapons,” Kadyrov said on the Telegram messaging app. “In addition, the guys are highly combative and very motivated to achieve results.”
In May, Kadyrov said that Chechnya, which is a federal republic of Russia, had sent more than 26,000 fighters to Ukraine from the start of the war, including 12,000 volunteers and that at the time 7,000 of them were actively fighting.
Kadyrov’s claims could not be independently verified and estimates of…
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