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The Secretary of State said war crimes are being committed by Russia.

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The second Chechen war, launched by Moscow in 1999, elevated the stature of Russia's new and then little-known prime minister, a former intelligence officer named Vladimir Putin. The brutal campaign was intended to bring the Islamic region back under the control of the Kremlin, which was seen by many as a fading nuclear power.

Putin said at the time that the bandits would be destroyed, in an echo of how he would talk about the Nazis.

It seemed as if the past had caught up with the present when Ramzan Kadyrov announced that he was in Ukraine to support Putin. Even though Kadyrov claimed on social media that he was close to the capital, he may have been just a publicity stunt.

Ramzan Kadyrov
Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov. (Musa Sadulayev/AP)

Russia expert Michael Weiss told Yahoo News that Kadyrov is a psychopath who tortures his political prisoners. The presence of Kadyrov's soldiers in Ukraine could signal a new phase of fighting, one in which the rules of conventional warfare are discarded as Putin becomes more desperate for victory.

Chechnya is ruled by Kadyrov under Putin's supervision. If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is the conflict's leading man, Kadyrov is the more colorful counterpart to Putin, given to brandishing a golden gun and trotting out a pet tiger. Kadyrov engaged in a social media feud with Musk even as he was preparing for war.

His cartoonish demeanor hides a deep lust for power and a penchant for violence. Chechnya has struggled to free itself from Russia for hundreds of years, and Kadyrov's paramilitary outfit works to suppress any rebellion. Kadyrov essentially guarantees he will retain the Kremlin's support by doing Putin's bidding, which has included hunting down opponents in Istanbul and Berlin.

The Russian military is facing a critical lack of manpower. He told Yahoo News that Kadyrovites are an essential asset to the Russian military.

A burned tank in Volnovakha, Ukraine
A burned tank in Volnovakha, Ukraine. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that the Biden administration could not confirm the presence of Chechen fighters. There have been battlefield reports and social media posts where a kind of meta- battle is being waged for world opinion.

The Kremlin did not hype Kadyrov's role and challenged his claim that he was on the outskirts of Kyiv. The Kremlin doesn't have many allies to turn to.

Ben Friedman, policy director at the Washington, D.C., think tank Defense Priorities, says that Russia's scrounging for troops in Chechnya and beyond is probably a sign of how poorly the war has gone for them.

Russia's poorly trained conscripts have been repelled multiple times since Putin launched an invasion last month. With the United States and other nations continuing to supply weapons to Kyiv, Russia could be coming dangerously close to defeat, potentially leaving it to rely on the kind of grueling warfare that allowed Putin to declare victory in Chechnya two decades ago.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin launched a disastrous invasion of Chechnya in 1994 in order to keep the small, oil-rich republic from gaining independence. Hundreds of Russian soldiers were killed in the battle for Grozny, the Chechen capital, as Chechnya mounted a furious defense. Chechnya achieved a measure of independence and peace after the Russian army retreated.

Grozny, Chechnya
Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, was besieged by the Russian army in August 1996. (Eric Bouvet/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Putin could be trying to frighten the Ukrainians with stereotypes about Chechens fighting prowess.

After a series of apartment bombings in Moscow and elsewhere that were blamed on Chechens, but were likely carried out by Kremlin security services, Putin started a second Chechen war. The Kadyrov family was given power over the Chechen populace in exchange for their loyalty. They have used that power to their advantage when it comes to the nation's gay and lesbian population.

Human Rights Watch found that dissidents could face almost medieval retribution. They attached wires to my toes and kept cranking the handle. I couldn't bear it, I was named in the report as a survivor of Kadyrov's torture.

The conflict that has already led President Biden to call Putin a war criminal would only get worse if such methods were brought to Ukraine.

Kadyrov said earlier this week that he was ready to fight and was a supporter of Putin. A Ukrainian news outlet determined that Kadyrov's announcement had actually come from Chechnya. The Chechens are accused of trying to assassinate Zelensky.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the U.S. Congress from Kyiv on Wednesday. (Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Should Russia fail to take Kyiv and other large cities, their role could be expanded. If Kadyrov's forces are asked to target civilians, they will do it, says Jean-Francois Ratelle, an expert on the Chechen wars.

Ratelle said that Putin could use Chechens to shoot Russian conscripts. During World War II, Joseph Stalin ordered Red Army frontline soldiers to shoot anyone who tried to flee from the Germans.

The war crimes in Ukraine appear to have been committed by Russians at the direction of the Kremlin. Experts on Chechnya worry that Kadyrov could become more involved in the conflict.

Reports that Putin was recruiting fighters in Syria, where Russia helped bolster the regime of Assad, were another development that pointed to an increase.

If the second Chechen war solidified Putin's grip on Russia, the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine could prove to be his undoing, especially if he looks to Kadyrov for the cruelly unconventional.

Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin at an event in Moscow on Friday marking the eighth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea. (Ramil Sitdikov/AFP via Getty Images)

Kadyrov's support for the war in Ukraine is seen by others as a desperate attempt to frighten Ukrainians with racist stereotypes about Muslim Chechens.

While Kadyrov is loyal to Putin, his father was assassinated by Chechen rebels in 2004, and other Chechens don't like the strongman.

A dissident Chechen commander said last month that real Chechens are defending Ukraine.

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What happened this week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.

Where are Russian forces attacking Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
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