Chechen commander says Russian conscripts must fight in Kursk Oblast, promises 'heaven' for killed
Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Chechen Akhmat Regiment fighting for Russia, said in a video on Aug. 19 that Russian conscripts should go to the front, and those who will be killed in Kursk Oblast "will go to heaven."
Alaudinov himself isn't fighting on the front.
Kyiv launched the unprecedented cross-border incursion on Aug. 6, saying it had captured over 1,200 square kilometers and dozens of Russian settlements since then.
At the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian conscripts will not be involved in the combat. As all-out war entered its third year, Putin signed a decree meant to conscript 150,000 citizens as part of the regularly occurring spring conscription campaign.
According to multiple reports, a number of conscripts were sent to Kursk Oblast and some 250 of them were captured by Ukrainian forces, the Washington Post reported on Aug. 16, citing an unnamed head of a prison where they were held.
Mothers of conscripts called on Putin to withdraw them from Kursk Oblast, the Moscow Times wrote on Aug. 12. The petition reportedly collected more than 5,000 signatures.
Addressing the conscripts' parents, Alaudinov said that Russia is currently "under attack by the enemy" and everyone must "stand the line."
"If your 18-year-old children, who are already in the Defense Ministry, they are servicemen, should not defend the homeland, even when it is attacked by the enemy and when the enemy is on our land. I have one question for you: why does this country need you and your children?" said Alaudinov, a close ally of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov and an official at the Russian Defense Ministry, in a video published on Telegram.
"No one will die who is not destined to die. But if you die defending your homeland, your faith in God, you will go to heaven," he added.
Alaudinov said that he "understands" only those parents who are dissatisfied with the payment for conscripts, offering them to sign contracts.
At least 159 Russian conscripts have been killed since the beginning of Moscow's full-screen invasion of Ukraine, BBC's Russian service reported in early August.
As Ukraine continues to make progress in the region, Ukrainian forces reportedly destroyed a third bridge in Kursk Oblast, further hindering Russia's ability to resupply troops hoping to fend off Ukraine's incursion.
Chris York
