Kathrine Frich
Soldiers received orders to prioritize safety over risky fighting.
Wartime rhetoric often promises absolute loyalty and total sacrifice on the front lines.
Behind closed doors, however, political survival can tell a very different story.
A quiet shift in strategy reveals that public devotion to a war effort does not always match what happens on the battlefield.
Quiet self preservation
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has built a fierce public image as one of Moscow’s most vocal supporters.
In April, he told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he had dispatched 70,000 Chechen men to fight in Ukraine. That figure represents roughly nine percent of Chechnya’s male population, The Economist reported.
Official casualty figures tell a surprisingly quiet story. Russian investigative outlet Mediazona cited by O2 reported that only 540 Chechen soldiers have died since the full-scale invasion began. That number makes up a tiny fraction of overall Russian losses.
Foreign fighters explain part of that low death toll. Units like the famous Akhmat special forces rely heavily on volunteers from other Russian regions, leaving Chechens to make up barely a quarter of the actual troops.
Distance from Moscow
Commanding officers have also issued strict instructions to protect native troops. A source close to regional authorities told The Economist that soldiers received orders to prioritize safety over risky fighting.
The insider added that local interests do not align with Kremlin goals. “No matter what interests Moscow has in Ukraine, we are infinitely far from them,” the source admitted anonymously. The official noted that Ramzan Kadyrov “does not want to sacrifice his people in the name of the so-called Russian mir.”
Protecting local lives helps Kadyrov secure his standing at home. Residents still remember the brutal wars against Moscow during the 1990s and early 2000s, when Russian forces bombed the capital of Grozny.
This cautious strategy stands in stark contrast to Kadyrov’s loud public posturing. The Chechen leader recently appealed to Putin to order an assault on Western nations, saying, “Vladimir Vladimirovich, just give us the task, and we’ll take care of the rest.”
Sources: The Economist, Mediazona
