'A knife in the back': Chechen leaders extends support to bring down Wagner mutiny
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin who commands extensive military forces in Chechnya
Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Reuters
Hours after Russia witnessed a war within itself, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Saturday offered Vladimir Putin his forces’ full support to bring down a mutiny by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and use harsh methods if necessary.
Kadyrov in a statement posted on Telegram called Prigozhin’s behaviour “a knife in the back” and called on Russian soldiers not to give in to any “provocations.”
He said that Chechen units were moving towards the “zones of tension” and would act to “preserve Russia’s units and defend its statehood”.
About Chechen forces
According to a report by Euronews, Chechens have engaged in the Russia-Ukraine war from both sides.
Chechnya is a region located in the Southern part of Russia and is mostly comprised of Muslims. Following the dissolution of the USSR, Chechens led a conflict to break away from Russia.
However, the result of the conflicts ultimately led to Moscow’s control over the region.
The Chechens waging a war alongside Russia are the ones who teamed up with Moscow to break the rebellion of their own people between 1999 to 2009, experts say.
Kadyrov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin who commands extensive military forces in Chechnya, had previously been seen as a Prigozhin ally, sharing some of the Wagner boss’s criticisms of the Russian military hierarchy.
Jean-Francois Ratelle, an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, who specialises in the Chechen conflict said, “They have been co-opted by the Russian regime. They have been given weapons, jobs, and billions of dollars from the state.”
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