Kyiv, May 16 (Navigator, Vladimir Raichenko) – At a press conference in Kyiv, representatives of the Chechen diaspora in Ukraine denied the previously circulated acting statement. Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov information about Chechen militants allegedly fighting on the side of the rebel Donbass militias.
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However, journalists also received their share of criticism when they distributed a video on a number of TV channels, allegedly confirming the presence of Chechen fighters in Slavyansk. In the video, Arsen Avakov talks about military clashes with well-trained Chechen militants, after which video footage of a special battalion is shown, the commander of which says something in his native language to the President of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
“In fact, in the video, Chechen special forces congratulate Ramzan Kadyrov on his 29th birthday,” Salman Sadayev, chairman of the board of the all-Ukrainian public organization “Diaspora of the Chechen People in Ukraine,” drew the attention of journalists. – But this year President Kadyrov turns 38 years old, that is, this video is nine years old. And, unfortunately, no one bothered to check the information, and the media hastened to spread the sensation and push the public to the idea that the Chechens shown in the video are participating in unrest in the East of Ukraine.”
A journalist from one of the Ukrainian TV channels asked to comment on the statement of Ramzan Kadyrov, who called the latest events in Ukraine a “coup d’etat” and said that Chechens are ready to go to Ukraine as peacekeepers or volunteers.
“We do not comment on statements by politicians and heads of republics,” responded the head of the Chechen diaspora in Ukraine Danil Goncharov.