Playing for Both Sides in the Russo-Ukrainian War

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on foreigners to head to Ukrainian embassies worldwide to sign up for an “international brigade” of volunteers to help fight invading Russian forces. Meanwhile, images of Chechen fighters preparing to join the battle on behalf of Russian troops spread widely on social media networks in the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Many Ukrainians believe that the videos showing the bearded Chechens marching in front of their leaders are meant to demoralize and intimidate them, given the Chechen fighters’ reputation for brutality during past wars in Chechnya, Syria, and other hotspots. But Chechens are fighting on both sides in the Russo-Ukrainian war. The Media Line’s Ksenia Svetlova brings the full story ^[1].