Kyiv denies taking it
Kadyrov reports the capture of the town of Popasna
05/08/2022, 09:18 am
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claims on Telegram that his fighters have taken the eastern Ukrainian city of Popasna. Kyiv, however, contradicts the representation. The Chechen units would not fight, just looting and videotaping.
According to the ruler of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, the eastern Ukrainian city of Popasna in the Luhansk region has fallen. “Chechen special forces fighters … took control of most of Popasna,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram. The central districts have been cleared.
Ukraine, on the other hand, reports that heavy fighting for the city is continuing. “Russian propagandists have happily reported that they have already taken the city, but that is not entirely true. This is the 117th ‘capture of Popasna’ they have claimed this week alone,” said an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on social media with. The Chechen troops would not fight, but would loot and record videos. The reports could not be independently verified.
It is unclear exactly what role Kadyrov and his fighters play in Ukraine. In the first days of the offensive, they were involved in combat operations at Kiev’s Hostomel airport, but apparently suffered heavy casualties there. According to information from Ukrainian counterintelligence, several hundred Chechens were killed in the fighting around the Ukrainian capital, including the high-ranking commander Magomed Tuschaev.
In Mariupol, the “Kadyrovtsy” are supposed to support the Russians in the siege of the Azovstal steelworks. However, Kyiv suspects that the units are now waging more of a media war than actually taking part in combat operations.