Deployment of the Chechen leader’s special forces in Bakhmut, Ukraine

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov He said It reported on Sunday that his Akhmat military unit had been deployed to a “difficult” combat position in the embattled eastern city of Pakhmut.

fighting him I picked up Near Bakhmut, the site of the longest battle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in recent days though a group of Wagner mercenaries claimed to have captured the city in late May.

“The Special Operations Command has redeployed Akhmat’s special forces under the command of Apti Alaudinov to the difficult Bakhmut region,” Kadyrov said.

“This rotation speaks of the confidence of the General Staff and the high combat effectiveness of the unit,” Kadyrov wrote in the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hanna Malyar, confirmed Kadyrov’s account fierce fighting about Bakhmut.

Ukrainian army He said On Monday, it had liberated 24 square kilometers of territory around Bakhmut since launching its counter-offensive in June.

Akhmat became last month Firstly The Russian volunteer detachment signed a contract under the official command of the Ministry of Defense – in contrast to the Wagner Group, which rejected the Ministry’s orders.

Kadyrov He said In May, the annexed and partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions fell under Akhmat’s area of ​​responsibility.

The exact number of Chechen soldiers making up Kadyrov’s special forces in Akhmat is unknown.

Kadyrov, a pro-Kremlin who has ruled Chechnya with an iron fist since 2007, He said Last month, Akhmat consisted of three teams.

Kadyrov has it claimed Chechnya has sent 26,000 fighters to Ukraine, of which 7,000 are on the front lines as of May 2023.