Ramzan Kadyrov has refused to send a large number of Chechens to Ukraine, according to an article published by The Economist. At least that’s what a source close to the official stated, reporting that, although the Chechen leader calls himself “Putin’s soldier”, he would not be willing to sacrifice his fighters for the sake of “the Russian world”.
Although a special forces volunteer unit, “Akhmat”, was created in Chechnya, recruiting people from all over Russia, the unit’s commander would have suggested that the soldiers in the region take care of themselves and not be overzealous.
At a meeting with Vladimir Putin in April 2026, Kadyrov publicly stated that the region he leads had sent over 70,000 soldiers to the front, writes The Moscow Times. This figure corresponds to 9% of the entire male population of Chechnya.
According to Mediazona, there are only confirmations of 540 Chechens dead since the start of the war in Ukraine.