Syrian war jihadist Rustam Azhiev rises up in Ukraine against Russia

KIEV – Rustam Azhiev, an involved jihadist Syrian war against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, now present Ukraine . He defended the Kievan forces against the invading forces Russia .

Ukraine’s intelligence directorate showed video of the jihadist firing an anti-armor weapon in the Donbas city of Bakhmut on Saturday.

Rustam Azhiev, better known by his nickname Abdul Hakim al-Shishani, comes from Chechnya, an autonomous region of Russia. He once led a jihadist organization of the Chechen civil war.

Caliber Obscura weapons researcher, as quoted Jerusalem Poston Wednesday (11/1/2023), he identified the weapon used by Azhiev in the Ukrainian war as the AT-4 anti-armor weapon.

Read also: Helping Russia, 300 Chechen soldiers deployed on the battlefield of Ukraine

Commanding a Chechen militia unit within the Ukrainian Foreign Legion – Defense Ministry Special Purpose Battalion of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – Azhiev was the Islamic Emir of Ajnad al-Kavkaz.

Ajnad al-Kavkaz is a group that fought during the Syrian civil war and includes Chechen militiamen who are in exile after coming to Turkey for medical treatment or temporary protection after the second Chechen war.

In Syria, Ajnad al-Kavkaz is fighting against the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. Second The interceptionat the time, Ajnad al-Kavkaz was allied with Jabhat al-Nusra and other al-Qaeda-linked groups.

However, Azhiev rejects the terrorism label applied to his group, telling The Intercept in a 2016 interview that Ajnad al-Kavkaz’s policies do not target women, children or the elderly.

According to researcher Joanna Paraszczuk of Chechen origin in Syria, Ajnad al-Kavkaz has made statements against ISIS and against attacks on civilians.