Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Semenov
[REGNUM] The well-known Chechen terrorist Abdul Hakim al-Shishani, who also fought against federal forces in Chechnya, said that his militants were attacking the Russian border. They became part of the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups (DRG) operating in the Belgorod region.
Abdul Hakim Shishani (real name Rustam Azhiev) has a long track record of participation in the activities of international terrorist organizations. In particular, he was the commander of the Caucasus Emirate, an organization not only banned in Russia, but also recognized as terrorist in the United States and at the UN level.
FROM IDLIB TO UKRAINE
After the defeat of terrorists in the North Caucasus, Azhiev moved to Syria, where the civil war began. There he led the Caucasus Emirate in Syria group, which later transformed into Ajnad Al-Caucasus.
In the Syrian province of Idlib, this faction closely interacted with another terrorist organization on the UN sanctions list - Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and came under its control.
However, the subordination of HTS probably weighed heavily on Azhiyev, especially since the leadership of the terrorists in Idlib set a course for “rooting” the group, that is, turning it into a purely Syrian one, instead of an international one, and under various pretexts purged foreign fighters who were trying to maintain a certain independence.
Then Abdul Hakim al-Shishani came into contact with the leader of the Ichkerian separatists in exile, Akhmed Zakayev, and received from him an offer to lead the “Ichkerian battalions” participating in the ranks of armed formations in hostilities against the Russian Federation. Then Azhiev and his people arrived from Idlib to Ukraine.
In addition to Ajnad al-Caucasus, another jihadist cell, previously associated with HTS terrorists in Idlib, may also be operating in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, namely the “Albanian Jamaat” (or “Albanian Group”), whose arrival in Ukraine and joining the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was confirmed HTS representatives themselves in Idlib in January 2023.
At the same time, a number of Russian-language information resources, including telegram channels patronized and financed by HTS, changed their broadcast schedule, switching from covering events in Syria to propaganda in the interests of the Kyiv regime and its Western patrons. Probably, the support of HTS and the structures of the Kyiv regime affiliated with it should become an additional argument in favor of the possible legalization and recognition of this structure by the United States and Western countries.
"HOLIDAY HOME" OF TERRORISTS
But there is a threat that the jihadist groups already present in Ukraine could be replenished by militants of the most radical terrorist organization “Islamic State” (ISIS is a terrorist organization banned in Russia) who settled in Ukraine, who, apparently, lived there under the tutelage of the SBU. It cannot be ruled out that the special services of the Kyiv regime planned to use them in subversive activities against Russia.
This is indicated by the fact that the presence of influential ISIS commanders in Ukraine became known quite by accident, due to the inconsistency in the work of the SBU and the CIA.
The SBU (or GUR), apparently, were afraid to inform the CIA about their possible plans to use ISIS militants and their presence on the territory of Ukraine. Even for their American colleagues, this was too radical a scenario. It is likely that the SBU or the Main Intelligence Directorate in this case could have acted in conjunction with the intelligence services of other Western states.
One way or another, in 2019, the CIA, with the help of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, identified a high-ranking ISIS terrorist, Caesar Tokhosashvili, a native of Georgian Pankisi, also known as Al-Bara al-Shishani, who was in Ukraine and quietly living in the city of Bila Tserkva. He was considered one of the influential commanders of ISIS due to the patronage of his fellow countryman Tarkhan Batirashvili, one of the main “military amirs” of ISIS.
Until Tokhosashvili was discovered by the CIA in Ukraine, he was presumed dead.
In August 2017, he and his family were believed to have been killed in an airstrike in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor. However, it later turned out that his death was staged in order to divert attention from the redeployment from Syria, from where he moved to Ukraine. All this looked like a planned action and could concern a whole group of ISIS militants who received a corridor and refuge in Ukraine.
The most interesting thing is that Caesar lived in Belaya Tservki for more than a year with his wife and three children and came to the country with real documents. That is, the SBU was aware of who they were accepting.
The capture of such a high-ranking militant should be a source of pride for the SBU. But they, on the contrary, carefully concealed this event in order to prevent the spread of rumors about the role of the SBU in “protecting” ISIS terrorists, and pretended that they simply were not aware of who lived on their territory until the Americans informed them.
That is, if the CIA had not accidentally found this militant, he would also most likely have ended up in the ranks of the terrorist Abdul-Hakim al-Shishani and his Ichkerian VFU battalions.
They could also include other ISIS militants living in Ukraine, whom the intelligence services of other states could not reach. They were waiting for their moment X, that is, the opportunity to be thrown into Russia and begin terrorist activity there, simultaneously with the planned invasion of Ukrainian forces into the people's republics of Donbass, which was stopped by the beginning of the North Military District.
The SBU itself was forced to admit that while in Ukraine, Tokhosashvili remained a member of ISIS and continued to recruit radicals living in Ukraine into the ranks of Amniyat (ISIS Security Service). There was little doubt about where they were planned to be deployed.
Although some of the ISIS fighters and sympathizers of this terrorist organization were nevertheless detained, these are rather isolated cases. And subsequently, the detainees were released and took part in hostilities in the ranks of the VFU.
For example, the chief military prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoly Matios, during the detention of the Nazi Daniil Lyashuk, who professed radical Salafi-jihadist views, called him “the most dangerous and brutal fighter of the Tornado battalion” and stated that Lyashuk was going to join ISIS, although the reasons for his arrest were completely different.
Nevertheless, soon “Al-Takbir” (as Lyashuk recorded himself in the Ukrainian passport) was released and killed near Bakhmut during the Northern Military District, where he fought in the ranks of the Ukrainian Federal Unity.
The activities of ISIS in Ukraine, of course, attracted media attention.
Thus, Polish journalist Pavel Pieniazek, who covered the war against ISIS in Syria and investigated the influence of terrorists in Afghanistan, and Ukrainian reporter Alena Savchuk investigated how and why Ukraine became a haven for ISIS militants.
In comments for their publication, former deputy chairman of the SBU Viktor Yagun stated in 2020 that hundreds of people living in Ukraine are associated with ISIS. He also noted that Ukraine is a “rest base” for ISIS militants, whom it does not intend to harm.
Ukraine, he said, is one of the safest places left for them after Georgia introduced harsh penalties for terrorism offenses in 2015 and stopped turning a blind eye to border crossers, and Turkey began deporting more and more disreputable foreigners. While in Ukraine they could already find possible use.
Now, with a high degree of probability, these people can be looked for in the “Ichkeria battalions” of the VFU, which, as they say, are located on the other side of the border in the Belgorod direction. Moreover, among the supporters of ISIS in Ukraine, apparently, there were many Chechens.
BRUSSELS' TOXIC ALLY
The history of the relationship between the Kyiv regime and ISIS has deeper roots.
In particular, back in 2015, Italian Member of the European Parliament Matteo Salvini addressed the then High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini with a request regarding the activities of ISIS in Ukraine.
In particular, he wrote in his request, citing sources in the American media:
“ It appears that they [ISIS supporters] have openly sided with Ukraine, seeking to weaken Russia and force it to concentrate its forces in this country, diverting resources from other fronts on which it confronts various Islamic terrorist groups. To date, Ukrainian authorities have made no attempt to refute these reports, disavow these fundamentalist ISIS combatants, or attempt to expel them from the territory Ukraine claims as its own. Given the serious danger posed by ISIS and Islamic terrorism in general, as recently confirmed by the tragic attacks in France and Tunisia, does the Vice President/High Representative consider it appropriate to rethink his position on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and engage in closer dialogue with Russia to contain this fundamentalist threat? "
Salvini received a very vague answer: they say, we don’t have the data, but we can say that Ukraine is committed to the fight against international terrorism,” Ms. Mogherini replied.
Nevertheless, then, apparently, pressure began to be put on Ukraine so that it would stop the activities of ISIS cells on its territory. In 2016, the SBU announced that it had blocked two ISIS branches in Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov, which provided material and logistical support to members of the group in Ukraine, as well as 11 “checkpoints” of ISIS militants in Kyiv and Kharkov. The SBU also stated that 443 people associated with the Islamic State were not allowed into Ukraine.
Since then, the SBU has regularly reported arrests of people involved in ISIS, but after verification, this information often turns out to be untrue.
In particular, in response to a request from the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza, the SBU was forced to report that from 2014 to 2020 they investigated the cases of only 9 people involved in the activities of ISIS, three more criminal proceedings were under consideration as of 2020.
Thus, in the territories controlled by the Kyiv regime, there may still be several hundred ISIS fighters who, apparently, have joined the Salafi-jihadist formations as part of the Ukrainian armed units. At the same time, one cannot exclude their use for subversive activities within the Russian Federation, as well as for the exchange of terrorist experience with the SBU and the State Intelligence Directorate.
Ajnad al-Kavkaz (AK or AAK; Arabic: أجناد القوقاز ‘Ajnād al-Qawqāz; lit. 'Soldiers of the Caucasus')[16] is a Chechen-led[2] Salafi jihadist militant group in northwestern Syria, operating primarily in the mountainous and forested areas of Latakia Governorate. Although it was formed by former fighters of the Caucasus Emirate and was tentatively linked to the organization,[23] AK operated autonomously from the beginning and later cut ties with the Caucasus Emirate.[12] Though it had become "the largest of the Muslim factions from the former Soviet Union fighting in Syria"[7] by September 2016, AK's activity dwindled in the following years.[24] In 2022, the group's centre of operations shifted from Syria to Ukraine, as most AK militants had begun mobilizing to fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5] As of 2023, AK has largely been engaged in the Battle of Bakhmut in Ukraine.
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