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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
World
Mansur Mirovalev

The real role of pro-Russian Chechens in Ukraine

Chechnya's regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov addresses servicemen in Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic, Russia, on February 25, 2022, the day after Moscow's troops invaded Ukraine [Musa Sadulayev/AP]

Bucha, Ukraine – Most of the Russian servicemen sitting in and atop 34 armed personnel carriers that rolled into Bucha on February 27 were ethnic Chechens, according to Ukrainian military leaders and government officials.

Bearded and burly, clad in brand new, perfectly fitting uniforms and toting assault rifles, they hoped to whiz through the leafy suburb northwest of Kyiv to enter the Ukrainian capital on the war’s third day.

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