Chechen forces accused of abandoning Russian conscripts at border

- I am a conscript. I was stationed near the village of Svierdlikovo. At the neighboring post, there was Akhmat. When we were surrounded, they fled because Kadyrov instructed the Chechens not to get captured, - said 22-year-old Yevgeny Kovylkin from the Belgorod region, who was guarding the Russian border on the day Ukraine breached it.

The recording was published by the Ukrainian station TSN. The Russian independent channel Astra is also reporting on the story.

Twenty-two-year-old conscript Yevgeny Kovylkin from the Belgorod region was serving at a post near the village of Svierdlikovo on the day Ukraine attacked the Kursk region, right by the border. Captured with taped hands and blindfolded eyes, he testified that Akhmat units were positioned at the neighboring post.

Akhmat is a special rapid reaction unit within the Russian National Guard. It is named after the first president of the Chechen Republic, Akhmat Kadyrov.

- When we were surrounded, they fled because Kadyrov instructed the Chechens not to get captured. Kadyrov said, "Chechens do not surrender," and at any threat of being captured, they flee, - said the 22-year-old conscript in the recording.

- What threat were they fleeing from? That's why they captured us, - asked the conscript.

Kovylkin's mother confirmed in an interview with the Astra channel that her son was indeed serving in the military in the Kursk region. She had not seen the published recording, nor had she been informed that her son had been captured. The last time she spoke to him was two weeks ago.

Svierdlikovo is located about 0.6 miles from the border with Ukraine.

Propaganda Russian military channels accuse Chechen special forces of making a "deal" with the Ukrainians at the border of the Kursk region, reports "The Moscow Times."

"Units of the Chechen special forces Akhmat, guarding the state border, conspired with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and deliberately let them through during the invasion of the Kursk region" - stated military blogger Alex Parker.

Parker claims that Akhmat knew precisely where and when the Ukrainians would attack.

"They simply agreed with the heraldries (as Russian bloggers call Ukrainian soldiers) and made some sort of mutual non-aggression pact," - believes Parker, whose entry is cited by "The Moscow Times."

Earlier, on August 6, Russian military correspondent Yuri Kotenok stated that a week before the invasion of the Kursk region, Akhmat soldiers in Sudzha performed a lezginka (a traditional Caucasian folk dance), shooting their weapons into the air. Kotenok emphasized that the brunt of the attack was taken on by units manned by conscripts, assisted by border guards, not by specially trained units like Akhmat.

Meanwhile, the commander of Chechen special forces Akhmat, Gen. Apti Alaudinov, stated that the Ukrainian army breached Russian territory because... they bypassed their positions.