Kadyrov’s report on sending volunteers to Donbass causes scepticism among social media users

Another detachment of 200 fighters has voluntarily left Chechnya for the special military operation zone, Ramzan Kadyrov reports. Volunteers are attracted by the promise of large remuneration or by pressure, some Instagram* users suggest.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Ramzan Kadyrov regularly reports about sending volunteers to Ukraine. On April 23, the leader of Chechnya reported about the dispatch of several hundred people from Chechnya. According to experts, a 10-day period of preparation for participation in the special military operation is not sufficient.

“Every week, 200 volunteers are being sent from Chechnya ... On the day of dispatch, the amount of 300,000 roubles is transferred to each fighter, and every day, each fighter also gets 53 US dollars from the Ministry of Defence,” reports a video posted on Ramzan Kadyrov’s Telegram channel.

Military expert Vasily Dandykin explains that about 200 volunteers can be trained within a week if they already have experience in military service.

In their comments on Instagram*, some users suggest that volunteers are attracted by the promised money.

It is not known whether residents of Chechnya may refuse to participate in the special military operation, notes Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the “Civic Assistance” Committee**. The human rights defender does not rule out that in case of refusal to participate, people may be subjected to persecution.

Not all residents of Chechnya who leave for Ukraine can be considered volunteers, Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, confirms. He received information about the pressure on those who then went to the special military operation zone.

* On March 21, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.

** The organization has been put by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on the register of NCOs performing the functions of a foreign agent.