Ukraine Muslims Opposed to Participation of Chechnya in Russian Attack
Following reports and images showing Chechen forces’ presence in Ukraine to help Russian troops in their military operation in the country, Ukrainian Muslim centers and societies said they won’t open their doors to provide food and shelter for them, Al-Jazeera reported.
They said they see no different between Russian and Chechen forces and consider all of them occupiers.
Before the start of the Russian attack, several Islamic institutions in Ukraine had expressed their opposition to the approach of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and his fighters, saying their approach is not in accordance with Islamic principles and ethical values.
According to a Ukrainian Muslim youth, the country’s Muslims are part of the society and defending their country’s territory is a national and religious duty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced the launch of an operation to eliminate what he called a serious threat to his country, citing the need to “denazify” Ukraine and accusing its Western-backed leadership of genocide against Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine.
The leader of Russia’s Chechnya region and an ally of Putin has said Chechen fighters had been deployed in Ukraine, and he urged Ukrainians to overthrow their government.
In a video posted online on Saturday, Kadyrov boasted that Chechen units had so far suffered no losses and said Russian forces could easily take large Ukrainian cities including the capital, Kiev, but their task was to avoid loss of life.
