Russian President Vladimir Putin has been left humiliated after soldiers belonging to the Chechnyan military fled Ukraine.
The troops had been assisting the Russian army in its invasion of Ukraine as it enters its fourth week.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who is known for his persecution of gay people, confirmed his support of ally Putin in a video where he was seen studying plans alongside a table surrounded by soldiers claiming to be in Hostomel, a village outside Kyiv, at an airfield captured by Russian forces in the first days of the war.
Kadyrov wrote: "The other day, we were about 20km from you Kyiv Nazis, and now we are even closer."
He added: "We will show you that Russian practice teaches warfare better than foreign theory and the recommendations of military advisers."
However, these claims have since come back to haunt the Chechen dictator as on February 26, just two days into the invasion, the Chechen National Guard units clashed with the Ukrainian army near Gostomel airport but were defeated.
Magomed Tushaev, believed to be Kadyrov's right hand and the leader of the 141st motorised regiment, was killed by Ukrainians that day.
The Security Service of Ukraine claims that "several hundred" Chechen soldiers were killed in the incident.
Kadyrov attempted to deny the defeat, claiming Tushaev was still alive. He later posted a video to social media, which appeared to show the two of them speaking on the phone.
However, he later acknowledged the death of two soldiers.
He wrote on Telegram: "Unfortunately, there are casualties among the natives of the Chechen Republic. Two died, and six others were injured."
Ramzan Kadyrov and Magomed Tushaev are both notorious for having led purges in Chechnya targeting gay people.
According to the Human Rights Watch, these operations included disappearances, secret abductions, imprisonment, torture, and killings.
On Monday, the Security Service of Ukraine uploaded a post on social media, claiming that the hardcore Chechen soldiers' primary task, as ordered by senior Russian army officials, is to shoot dead every Russian soldier that tries to surrender.
The Ukrainian security intelligence officers claimed the Chechen army has suffered "numerous losses" and called them "TikTok troops" as they have posted footage on social media.
The Security Service said: "'Lice' Russian soldiers, 'fence squads' and numerous losses: how the Kadyrovites are actually fighting in Ukraine.
"Russian propaganda shapes their image as a formidable force capable of carrying out any of Putin's tasks. But in 26 days of war, Ukrainian soldiers have shattered this myth."
The Service added: "The Kadyrovites are now called 'TikTok troops' because of their love of stage commercials.
"Because during the war they 'distinguished themselves' only by video recordings and atrocities against the civilian population."
Adding: "The main task of the Kadyrovites is to 'clean up' and kill Russian soldiers fleeing the battlefield.
"That is, they perform the function of 'charge squads' and shoot at their own.
"Although they do not consider the Russians "theirs", they call them "lice" and are happy to kill them."
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