Chechnya’s homophobic strongman claims he’s fighting against Ukraine

March 2023 — Chechen tyrant Ramzan Kadyrov, who has overseen mass arrests of gay Chechens starting in 2017, says he is now in Ukraine fighting alongside Russian soldiers. There’s no proof that he’s telling the truth, but over the course of the war Chechen troops have often been reported fighting on the side of the Russian invaders.

[Editor’s note: It’s quite unlikely that Kadyrov is still in Ukraine, if he ever was. Click here for recent LGBTQ-related news from Ukraine.]

Kadyrov would not be the first Chechen homophobe to join in the fighting against Ukraine, which is being defended by Ukrainian forces that include LGBTQ Ukrainian patriots.

On Feb. 26, Ukraine forces killed Kadyrov’s accomplice, Chechen general Magomed Tushayev, at the Antonov International Airport northwest of Kyiv, the Jerusalem Post reported. The Post noted: “Tushayev is responsible for the torture and murders of LGBTQ+ individuals in the largely Muslim region of Chechnya in Russia. The Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed his death, writing in a tweet that ‘Magomed Tushayev, leader of the 141 motorized regiment of the Chechen National Guard, was killed!.’ ”

Agence France-Presse and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty both reported on Kadyrov’s statements and videos portraying his role in Ukraine.  The Guardian has challenged a video allegedly showing Kadyrov at “a strategy session filmed in a basement bunker in Ukraine” and menacing “Kyiv residents with the prospect of a ‘personal visit’.”

It stated:

“Ukrainian intelligence services say the video was likely false bravado, filmed at home in Chechnya. Intelligence from phones and internet suggested he never crossed into Ukraine, and even Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to endorse the video, saying the Kremlin had “no data” on a possible trip into Ukraine.

“But regardless of veracity, the footage was useful propaganda, signalling how closely and enthusiastically Kadyrov has associated himself with this war.”

Agence France-Presse reported previously:

Kadyrov, who is accused by international NGOs of serious human rights violations in the tightly controlled Caucasus republic, posted a video on Telegram of himself in military uniform studying plans around a table in a room with soldiers.

He said in a message that the video had been shot at Hostomel, an airfield near Kyiv captured by Russian forces in the first days of their offensive. The claim could not be independently verified.

“The other day we were about 20km from you Kyiv Nazis and now we are even closer,” Kadyrov wrote. He called on Ukrainian forces to surrender “or you will be finished”.

“We will show you that Russian practice teaches warfare better than foreign theory and the recommendations of military advisers,” he added.

Kadyrov, who rules Russia’s Chechnya republic with an iron fist, is a former rebel turned Kremlin ally with a paramilitary force at his command.

At the start of the Russian offensive, images circulated on social networks showing a square in the Chechen capital, Grozny, filled with soldiers claimed to be on their way to Ukraine.

RFE/RL reported:

The presence of Chechen fighters in Ukraine has been widely reported, with videos and photographs documenting their presence.

Some videos have been taken by Chechen units as they either prepared to depart for Ukraine, or as they were moving within Ukraine, and reposted to Kadyrov’s personal Telegram channel.

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Chechen paramilitary units are widely considered to be a formidable fighting force, having been deployed, ostensibly with government authorization, to eastern Ukraine in the past, as well as to places like Syria.

For his part, Kadyrov runs Chechnya as his own fiefdom, having been authorized by Russian officials to take control of the region in the late 2000s after his father was assassinated in a bomb blast.

Large-scale fighting in Chechnya ended years ago, and the capital, Grozny, which was devastated by Russian forces in the 2000s, has been rebuilt, with gleaming skyscrapers and landscaped boulevards.

But Kadyrov’s forces have been linked to widespread rights abuses, kidnappings, and collective punishment. Kadyrov has also overseen a brutal purge that has targeted gay men.

The Guardian said Kadyrov had hoped to strengthen his position at home by supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

“Lined up with the Ukrainian forces are at least two brigades that include members of the Chechen diaspora who loathe him, and would like to see him overthrown. He needs to show enemies at home and abroad his strength, but he needs to keep his forces intact to prop up his brutal rule.

“Kadyrov seems to have been shocked by the scope of Ukrainian resistance, and it seems that dozens if not hundreds of his people have been killed. He has a lot of people, around 12,000, but to stay in power he needs those fighters,” [said Emil Solomon Aslan from the Institute of Political Studies at Charles University in Prague].

“If they suffer too much serious damage in Ukraine, this could backfire for Kadyrov. This might explain some of the rumours he rolled back some of his forces.

“He wants to show himself as a tough leader of these tough fighters who are willing to self-sacrifice. But I’m not really sure if they are willing to give up their lives.”