Since the start of the war, tens of thousands of Muslims have either picked up arms or assisted in the war efforts in other ways. While most of these Muslims are of course Ukrainian, many are from Caucasus, and Chechnya in particular. Together with the Ukrainians, they are not only defending Ukraine and its values, but fighting a common enemy: Russia. FRANCE 24’s Raid Abu Zaideh and Anaïs Guérard report from the front line.
Although Ukraine is mainly Christian, it is also home to around half a million Muslims, accounting for around 1 percent of the population. The majority of them are Crimean Tartars, or Crimeans.
After the unprovoked Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, many Muslims took up arms alongside their fellow countrymen.
However, it is not only Ukrainian Muslims fighting in the military.
Muslims from Caucasus, and in particular Chechnya, have also joined the fight by signing up to the Chechen volunteer battalions, such as Dzhokhar Dudayev and Sheikh Mansur.
In October last year, the Ukrainian Parliament recognised the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and Russia’s illegal occupation of the territory.
FRANCE 24’s reporters on the ground, Raid Abu Zaideh and Anaïs Guérard, went to meet the Muslims who – along with fatigue-wearing imams and clerics – have joined the Ukrainian cause.
