(NewsGlobal.com)- Not everyone in Russia is behind the invasion of Ukraine. According to reports, officers within Russian intelligence reportedly tipped off Ukrainian officials about a plot by Chechen fighters to kill or capture President Volodymyr Zelesnky and other senior Ukraine officials.
In a message sent on Telegram, the head of Ukraine’s National Security Council Oleksiy Danilov revealed that the two groups of Chechen assassins, called “Kadyrovites,” after Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has pledged unswerving loyalty to Putin, had been “eliminated.”
Danilov later told Ukraine 24 TV that Ukraine would “not give our President or our country to anyone,” telling the Chechen forces, “get out of here.”
Zelensky had said last Friday that both he and his family are the Kremlin’s top two targets since Russia’s invasion began.
Chechen fighters on the ground in Ukraine is a cause of great concern. Human rights organizations have accused Ramzan Kadyrov of using torture, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances to maintain his authoritarian rule over Chechnya.
The Chechens are part of a Russian national guard unit that is known for fighting insurgencies. Unlike Russian soldiers, Chechens are used to engaging in vicious urban warfare and they are not likely to care what methods they use.
On Sunday, Kadyrov urged President Putin to use harsher methods against Ukraine. In a message sent on Telegram, he said the Russian military tactics have been too slow and ineffective and he called on Moscow to fully coordinate military actions for a decisive assault.
While it is unclear how many Chechen fighters are deployed in Ukraine, according to Reuters, the number could be anywhere between 7,000 to tens of thousands.
Unlike Russia which has been reluctant to divulge its casualties, Ramzan Kadyrov has confirmed that Chechens have been killed in the conflict.
From unconfirmed reports out of Kyiv, Ukrainian forces claimed to have taken out 56 Chechen tanks and killed one of its high-ranking commanders closing in on the capital. Kadyrov, however, denied that his commander has been killed.
