These images show pro-Ukrainian Chechen volunteers battling the Russian invaders in the Bakhmut area in eastern Ukraine.
The images, punctuated by the sound of gunfire, show scenes of urban warfare, with one soldier seen firing a rocket launcher at the enemy.
The footage was obtained from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on Saturday, 7th January, along with a statement saying: “Chechen volunteers destroy the Russian occupiers in Bakhmut.
“Chechen volunteers continue to defend Ukraine as part of the International Legion of the Armed Forces of the Ministry of Defence in the hottest points of the front.
“Among the volunteers is Abdul Hakim, the hero of the Ichkerian people. Currently, the Chechen division of the Legion is destroying the Russian occupiers in Bakhmut.
“Before the full-scale Russian invasion on 24th February, Abdul Hakim led the Ajnad al-Kavkaz group in Syria. After 24th February, his group became part of the Special Special Purpose Battalion of the Ministry of Defence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – a volunteer unit within the Ukrainian International Legion of the Ministry of Defence of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
“On 15th October, Abdul Hakim was promoted to the rank of colonel of the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.”
The images and statement were also relayed by the Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was a de facto state that controlled most of the former Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. It was a moderate Islamic secessionist government operating in Chechnya between 1991 and 2007. Ukraine’s parliament voted in October 2022 to recognise the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as “temporarily occupied”.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 320th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 9th January, Russia had lost about 111,760 personnel, 3,080 tanks, 6,147 armoured combat vehicles, 2,069 artillery units, 434 multiple launch rocket systems, 217 air defence systems, 285 warplanes, 275 helicopters, 1,856 drones, 723 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,809 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 183 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his country’s forces are repelling numerous attacks on the city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky said on Sunday night: “Bakhmut is holding on despite everything. And even though most of the town has been destroyed by Russian strikes, our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance. Soledar is holding on, even though there is even greater destruction and things are very difficult.”
Russia has said that it has killed over 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a strike on the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk, but Ukraine’s military and the town’s mayor have rejected this claim.
Ukrainian officials have said that at least two people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine, with the Governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, saying that one person had been killed in strikes on Bakhmut, while eight others in the region had been wounded.
Russia and Belarus have reportedly expanded their joint military training exercises in Belarus. The move comes amid concern that Moscow is pushing its ally to join the war in Ukraine.
Demands for a special court to investigate Moscow for “crimes of aggression” against Ukraine have been backed by UK politicians across the political spectrum.
Germany and the United States have joined France and agreed to send armoured fighting vehicles to Ukraine in a move that is seen as a significant boost to the country’s military capabilities on the battlefield.
Ukraine has been asking its Western allies for tanks for months, but the request has so far gone largely unheeded, despite Germany taking part in a tank swap deal under which Ukraine is being provided with Soviet-era tanks from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Greece, which are then supplied with modern German equipment.
