INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Aslan Mohammed Ocherkhadzhiev has just sat down at a safe house near Chasiv Yar, one of the last Ukrainian strongholds near the city of
Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.On the table before him sit stacks of paper coffee cups and cans labeled in Arabic
Lost in thought, he calmly sips a cup of coffee.With a mechanical motion, the 43-year-old sets down the Makarov pistol he was carrying on
his belt and reveals a maimed hand: a reminder of his first war against the Russians in the mountains of Chechnya in 2000 when he was barely
23.Aslan first served as an instructor for the Ukrainian special forces before joining the Sheikh Mansur Battalion, a unit of Chechen
fighters created in 2014 by Mousslim Tcheberloevsky and predominantly composed of veterans of the Chechen wars for independence from
Russia.Today, he is one of its commanders, fighting Russian troops once again.In the next room, his comrade Walid faces toward Mecca and
begins the Asr afternoon prayer in front of a folding mirror.Outside, in the destroyed streets of Chasiv Yar, Ukrainian soldiers lean
against old T90 tanks in silence, their faces masked by exhaustion
In the distance, the artillery of both sides rumbles, and flocks of birds scatter in the sky.Nicolas CleuetIn late December, Colonel General
Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, reported that intense fighting was taking place all along the eastern front,
and the Ukrainian army, from Kupiansk to Bakhmut, through Lyman, was struggling to resist wave after wave of Russian assaults.About 10
kilometers north of Chasiv Yar, after months of fighting and at the cost of tens of thousands of lives, Russian forces had managed to break
through Ukrainian positions in the Avdiivka sector and started to encircle the city.Aslan remains unfazed
A sniper during the Second Chechen War, he knows what defeat tastes like
While he admits the situation remains complicated, he does not believe in the collapse of the Ukrainian army."I pray for victory," Aslan
unrecognized state that existed de facto from 1991-2000.Graffiti painted on the side of a burned-out building in Chasiv Yar.Nicolas
CleuetExiled in Norway after spending several years in the prisons of Kremlin-allied Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, Aslan came to Ukraine to
fight against invading Russian forces in the summer of 2022."I came here to get revenge on my old enemy," he says with a mischievous
stretched toward Mecca is surrounded by military equipment
A Ukrainian flag and assault rifles hang on the wall."The situation for the Ukrainian army is difficult," Aslan finally admits
Less imposing than Aslan, Walid, with his disheveled beard and long black hair cascading down his shoulders, tries to downplay the
But, most importantly, we still have the support of the West for now."While both armies are in a dire state, Aslan insists that the Russian
forces still have the upper hand.But more importantly, he explains, the Russian army, which has more manpower, continues to send its
soldiers as cannon fodder into their positions."It's like the time of Stalin," Aslan says
"They use the same technique in Bakhmut."Tanks roll down a road in the area of Chasiv Yar.Nicolas CleuetWalid and Aslan explain that Russian
soldiers are sent in such a way that it's almost impossible for them to retreat, and when they do, they are shot by their superiors."They
throw themselves at our positions like meat, and we don't have enough ammunition, shells, or men to stop them, so we are forced to gradually
It's the only strategy they have found to nibble away at our positions, but it works.""The Ukrainian army lacks everything."But neither
Walid nor Aslan appear defeated
Considered one of the best units in the Ukrainian army, their battalion's soldiers are typically sent to the worst places on the
this regard, Aslan and Walid do not complain about their situation
They express gratitude for external donations, especially from the Chechen diaspora, that enable them to buy the equipment they need.Aslan
anti-aircraft defense systems, and equipment of all kinds
says, his voice tinged with anger
determination and courage
If this war is a struggle for the liberation of Ukraine and Ichkeria, he says, it is also a battle for Europe and its values.In the current
state of affairs, the two men insist that Ukraine, despite some withdrawals, is capable of holding its positions, but is unable to launch
