The possible death of a Russian MP and commander of Chechen forces in Ukraine, Adam Delimchanov, has fueled reports that mercenaries from the Wagner group and Ramzan Kadyrov’s Chechen militias are increasingly hostile to each other.
On Thursday, a real soap opera unfolded after Ukrainian soldiers reported that Adam Delimchanov had been killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack in Zaporizhia oblast. Some context: Delimchanov is a Chechen commander wanted by Interpol and on the Western sanctions list. He is also a member of the Russian parliament and familiar and confidant of Ramzan Kadyrov, the bloodthirsty dictator of Chechnya and friend of Putin. Delimchanov heads the notorious Chechen Akhmat battalion, which is held responsible for war crimes, including in Bocha and Mariupol.
Dead/undead/missing/alive
News of Delimchanov’s death was initially denied by Russia, then downplayed by Russian media and Delimchanov’s political party, United Russia. Delimchanov would only be wounded. On the same day, Chechen dictator Kadyrov, who is Delimchanov’s cousin, brother-in-law and executive (or some combination thereof), made an emotional appeal to the Ukrainian security services on his Telegram channel.
“I can’t contact him in person. I request the Ukrainian intelligence services to provide information on the exact location of my dear brother-in-law and on that of the bombings. I promise a generous reward,” Kadyrov wrote. An offer the Security Service of Ukraine reportedly would not accept.
“I can’t contact him in person. I request the intelligence services of Ukraine to provide information on the exact location of my dear brother’
Another Chechen commander, Apti Alaudinov, in turn confirmed on Telegram that his colleague was missing and his life was in danger. According to Alaudinov, Kadyrov had ordered him to find Delimchanov “by any means”.
Correction
The Chechen leader then retracted his previous messages. Adam Delimchanov is not missing and not injured, he writes on Telegram. According to Kadyrov, he had helped the world’s rumors of Delimchanov’s disappearance mislead the Ukrainian media.
“Adam Sultanovich is alive and well, and he hasn’t even been injured. I knew about the false provocation from the very beginning, but I decided to show everyone, especially the Ukrainians, how unreliable their media is. He’s incredibly disrespectful to public lies when the lie can be disproven,” Kadyrov yelled.
“Adam Sultanovich is alive and well, and he hasn’t even been hurt”
Salient: Kadyrov’s Telegram posts have been scrutinized on Twitter and some say the videos are clearly fake, dubbed or (in the case of a photo of Kadyrov with his confidante Delimchanov), postdated. With which Delimchanov’s death becomes less and less a ghost.
Animosity
Delimchanov’s death fuels persistent reports that Chechen militias and Wagner group mercenaries are increasingly hostile to each other. Chechens and Wagnerians initially matched in their dislike of Russian Defense Minister Shoygu and Kadyrov supported Wagner boss Prigozhin in his public attacks on Shoygu. ). .
It is therefore remarkable that Prigozhin did not comply and Kadyrov obeyed Shoigus’ (and later Putin’s) order for all “volunteer units” to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry before 1 July. By signing, the Chechens are now effectively under the control of Sergei Shoigu. But where Kadyrov obediently signed the cross, Prigozhin flatly refused. Even after President Putin repeated on television that it was necessary to sign.
Line
While the animosity between the Russian military and Shoygu on the one hand and the Wagner group on the other has been going on for some time, that between Kadyrov and Prigozhin is of a more recent nature. Last month, Prigozhin suggested that the Chechen Akhmat battalion (over which Delimchanov holds control, or more likely has swung) “is unable to occupy or maintain positions in the Donetsk Republic.”
Delimchanov reacted as if stung by a wasp: “Of course you don’t understand this, Yevgeny, and you don’t need to understand. If there is something you don’t understand, you can always contact us and mention the place where we can meet you to explain what you don’t understand. Delimchanov also disapproved of Prigozhin’s criticism of the Russian military and its shortage of ammunition. He stressed that, unlike the Wagner group, Akhmat’s commanders never complained of “the lack of something.”
scream loud
Finally, Delimchanov accused Prigozhin of shouting too much and too loudly. “You have become a blogger who shouts and yells to the whole world about all the problems,” said Delimchanov. “Stop yelling and yelling and yelling.” It is remarkable that Delimchanov belittled Prigozhin by adding a diminutive to his name.
“You’ve become a screaming blogger”
Delimchanov’s insults were immediately cleared up by the prominent Wagner and neo-Nazi Dmitri Utkin, one of the founders of the Wagner Group. In one message (which Prigozhin immediately put back online, of course) Utkin wondered where Delimchanov had the courage to speak so chivalrously about his boss. Utkin suggested in thinly veiled terms that “some citizens… should be put up against a wall”.
Good idea
Even the speaker of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov (another close friend and confidant of Kadyrov, ed), criticized Prigozhin’s public statements. Like Delimchanov, Daudov scolded Prigozhin for his “everyday statements” that “create panic among the people of our country.” Finally, he invited Prigozhin to convey his coordinates to him for a “meeting like men do.”
Daudov thus seems to have involuntarily given Prigozhin a brilliant idea. Newsweek reported shortly after that the Wagner Group deliberately leaked Delimchanov’s whereabouts so the Ukrainians could deal with him.
The source of this explosive outburst is Roman Venevitin, the Russian lieutenant colonel who made headlines last week after Prigozhin released a video in which Venevitin admits to opening fire on Wagner Group fighters as they retreated from the town of Bachmut. Venevitin, who claimed he was kidnapped and tortured by Wagnerians after his release, made the claim about him in a post on the Telegram channel Venevitin_72 (which Newsweek said it could not verify authenticity).
Vendetta
According to the lieutenant colonel, the Wagner Group cooperates with “enemy intelligence services”. “They have already collaborated with enemy intelligence by leaking the locations of our units. And now it happened again,” said Venevitin’s Telegram post.
“According to the information in my possession, they suffered reprisals against Ramzan Kadyrov,” Venevitin wrote, expressing his wish that actions be taken against Prigozhin and “other businessmen” from the Wagner group “who have always used Russia exclusively for personal enrichment, nor shy away from direct cooperation with the enemy!’
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
