The Dudayev Battalion, a Chechen unit currently fighting against separatists in eastern Ukraine, has a new commander following the death of its previous leader, Isa Munayev, who fell in Debaltseve on February 1. The battalion’s new chief is Adam Osmayev, a man accused of plotting to assassinate Vladimir Putin in 2012.
According to Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, Osmayev and his common-law wife, Amina Okuyeva, orchestrated Munayev’s murder on orders from the CIA and the Ukrainian Security Service. “Cease operations at once!” Kadyrov told members of the Dudayev Battalion on Instagram. “This isn’t your war. Come home immediately. This is your last chance to save yourselves.”
Osmayev has replaced battalion commander Isa Munayev, following Munayev’s death, announced the unit’s press officer, Amina Okuyeva.
Isa Munayev fought in both the recent Chechen Wars against Russian federal troops. In Ukraine, he fought against the pro-Russian separatists.
In February 2012, a week before Russia’s presidential election, police arrested Adam Osmayev on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Vladimir Putin. Terrorism charges were later removed, however, and Osmayev was released from prison after serving just three years for the illegal possession of explosives.