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A Russian commander who fought against Ukraine since the war's inception has been killed in action in the Donbas region. Yevgeny Pisarenko, commander of the Chechen armed formation known as Akhmat, was pronounced dead on Monday by two fellow soldiers. He went by the nickname "Big," which also translates to "The Great" in a Russian context. "Thanks to the parents who raised such a Hero...A BIG man with a BIG heart!" Akhmat unit commander Apta Alaudinov wrote on Telegram

In the wake of the failed rebellion in Russia, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is positioning himself as a warlord ready to go into battle for Vladimir Putin. But unlike the paramilitary Wagner group, which Moscow is now seeking to disband, Chechen special forces have earned a reputation as “TikTok fighters” more concerned with their social media appearance than battlefield successes. Following rival warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny, Kadyrov has sought to emphasise his continuing close ties to Putin, posting a selfie with the Russian president on his Telegram channel on Wednesday and bragging about their meeting the day before. Yet the...

Members of the security forces of Russia's Chechnya region massed in its capital, Grozny, on Friday to mark Russian President Vladimir Putin's 70th birthday and see local leader Ramzan Kadyrov honoured for supporting Ukrainian separatists. Kadyrov, one of Putin's most loyal allies, has sent Chechen soldiers to support Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine, notably in the self-styled separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in the east. DPR leader Denis Pushilin presented Kadyrov with the medal of a "Hero of the Donetsk People's Republic" before a crowd of service personnel that Chechen television said numbered around 20,000. Among the ranks of black-clad...

Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, delivered a warm congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on his 70th birthday, after a week of criticizing how the Ukraine war has been handled. In a stark shift of tone after publicly ridiculing Putin's military amid a series of successful counteroffensives conducted by Kyiv in Ukraine's south and northeast, Kadyrov extended his well wishes to Putin, offering praise and crediting the leader for supporting Chechnya "in the most difficult times." "Russian President Vladimir Putin played a key role in the fate of the Chechen people," he said, adding that Russian leader "saved the republic"...

"Russia repeating in Ukraine the same random terror shelling of civilians until they leveled Grozny---- Russia did the same in Syria. When Chechnya declared itself a republic free from Russia, they were obliterated. But now, Russia's little Putin says areas in Ukraine have the right to declare themselves free republics from Ukraine (and of course later be absorbed by Russia)----irony, dripping with hypocrisy. Chechens joining up with the Ukrainians gives them an ideal opportunity to eliminate hundreds if not thousands of Russian soldiers. This will make it far easier for them to overthrow Kadyrov and gain their freedom from Russia....

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and top ally of Vladimir Putin, said Sunday that he is waiting on an order from the Russian president to blast Western countries to "smithereens." Kadyrov made the declaration in a Telegram post that announced the completion of a new Chechen regiment called "North-Akhmat," which was one of four that the Chechen leader announced was being formed last month to help replenish Russia's troops during its ongoing war with Ukraine. He wrote that Russia is the only country in the world to "speak out against the infernal abomination that the West spreads," and that he...

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday that he would be sending more troops to aid the Russians in their fight against Ukraine. Kadyrov announced the move in a Telegram post, stating that four battalions featuring an "impressive number" of soldiers would be formed to aid Russia. "The military contingent will include only Chechen guys," Kadyrov wrote. "They will replenish the composition of the troops of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation." He said the four battalions would be named "North-Akhmat", "South-Akhmat", "West-Akhmat," and "Vostok-Akhmat," and would be deployed from the Chechen Republic. "The desire to form new...

Chechnya’s strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov issued a warning to those spreading “rumours” about Putin’s health, telling them it is “better to shut your mouths”. Kadyrov also rubbished claims Putin is in a coma, saying he had spoken the Russian despot recently and he was “cheerful”. In a recording posted to his Telegram channel, he said he had “read that our president had fallen into a coma" and that "they are looking for a replacement right now". He added of seeing Putin recently: “He has a very cheerful voice, a commanding voice, and he is ready to complete the special operation...

Chechen leader and Vladimir Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov has declared victory over the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk. -snip- Kadyrov has now claimed that "warriors from the Chechen Republic, together with the people's militia of the LPR and other Russian power units, completed the total cleansing of Severodonetsk." He added: "The fighters moved on to the next stage - a more thorough random check of individual urban objects." Kadyrov also stated: "The fighters know their business very well and therefore act with composure inherent in professionals."

Putin loses ANOTHER colonel in Ukraine: Close ally of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov is latest to be killed as death toll among high ranks hits 49 Lieutenant-colonel Zaur Dimayev killed Tuesday by shell in Luhansk, it is claimed Dimayev was the deputy commander of a Chechen special forces battalion Pictures show him posing alongside feared Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov It brings the total number of Russian colonels killed fighting to at least 49 Russia has lost another colonel in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin's top brass continues to suffer heavy casualties in his miscalculated invasion. Lieutenant-colonel Zaur Dimayev, deputy commander of...

Russia has lost another colonel in Ukraine as Vladimir Putin's top brass continues to suffer heavy casualties in his miscalculated invasion. Lieutenant-colonel Zaur Dimayev, deputy commander of the 4th battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov special forces regiment, was killed Tuesday by an artillery barrage in the Donbas region, Telegram channel Baza reported today. Dimayev was riding in a military SUV through the village of Kamyshevakha, Luhansk province, when it was hit by a Ukrainian shell, according to the site - which is thought to have links to Russian intelligence. The commander, a friend of feared Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, was...

The leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has told a Moscow audience that his country's forces are "finding it difficult" and are fighting a war "against NATO" in Ukraine. A fierce loyalist of Vladimir Putin, the leader of the Caucasus republic, announced his forces had been deployed to the battlefield in Ukraine soon after the Russian president invaded on February 24. -snip- At a filmed educational forum in Moscow, Kadyrov addressed Russia's faltering invasion of Ukraine, in which his militias have suffered heavy casualties. "We're fighting not against Ukraine, against Banderites—we're fighting against NATO," Kadyrov told the...

It started 15 years ago as a hostage taking in a small town in southern Russia. It ended three days later in bloodshed that left hundreds dead, the majority of them children, in one of the worst terror attacks in Russian history. Some three dozen Chechen militants took more than 1,200 people hostage at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, on September 1, 2004. The drama ended days later after Russian forces stormed the school. The standoff and resulting battle saw 334 people killed, 186 of whom were children. "I was lining the students up [to address them]. When I...

On April 13, ECHR obliged Russian authorities to pay the terror attack victims about €3 million in compensation and €88,792 of costs and expenses. ECHR ruled that Russian authorities were aware of the planned terrorist attack but did not take necessary measures to prevent the tragedy. The court also exposed serious shortcomings in planning and controlling the operation of hostages’ rescue. The Justice Ministry claims that the ECHR’s ruling may indicate double standards regarding Russia, arguing that this decision contrasts ones made in precedent cases.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia failed to protect the hostages of the Beslan school siege in which about 330 people died in 2004. In the siege, Chechen rebels took more than 1,000 hostages, mostly children. The operation by Russian forces to end it used disproportionate force, the court added. It also said that officials knew an attack was imminent but did not act.

Two weeks ago we reported that as part of its proactive effort to tackle future terrorist attacks, the French government announced that starting in September, French 14-year-olds would receive lessons how to survive a terrorist attack on their schools, following a spate of Islamist killings in recent months. It appears that was not enough, because earlier today the France interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced France would deploy about 3,000 reserve troops, train school authorities and ramp up school anti-terror drills in case of attacks, its education and security ministers announced on Wednesday, a week before the start of a new...

n examination of digital equipment recovered from the home of the couple who killed 14 people in San Bernardino last week has led FBI investigators to believe the shooters were planning an even larger assault, according to federal government sources. Investigators on Thursday continued to search for digital footprints left by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, scouring a downtown San Bernardino lake for electronic items, including a hard drive that the couple was hoping to destroy, sources told The Times. FBI agents will probably spend days searching Seccombe Lake and canvassing the neighborhood for clues after receiving a tip...

San Bernardino school officials have revealed that due to his job as a San Bernardino County health inspector, terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook inspected eleven school sites in the county for months before he massacred 14 people and wounded 21 others last week. Less than 24 hours before the massacre, San Bernardino City Unified School District officials discovered that Farook visited one site only two months before the shootings. Linda Bardere, a spokeswoman for the district, told Southern California Public Radio that after the shooting occurred, district officials asked the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians for permission to use their...

TET, TAKE TWO: ISLAM'S 2016 EUROPEAN OFFENSIVE By Matthew Bracken, November 2015 More than a decade ago I wrote my first novel, Enemies Foreign and Domestic. Part of my motivation was to establish my bona fides at forecasting social, political and military trends. I didn’t like the direction America was heading, and I wanted to warn as many readers as possible about some of the dangers I saw coming. At the end of 2015, I hope that my past success at prognostication will encourage people to pay heed to this essay. As we roll into the New Year, we are...

An exceptional essay, discussing the primary forces at work against society Tet, Take Two: Islam's 2016 European OffensiveMatthew Bracken is the author of Enemies Foreign and Domestic, and a well-known advocate for Second Amendment rights. The following guest-essay by Mr. Bracken is also being published at Western Rifle Shooters Association. As we roll into the New Year, we are witnessing the prelude to the culmination of a titanic struggle between three great actors. Three great social forces are now set in motion for a 2016 showdown and collision that will, in historical terms, be on par with the First and...