Ukraine authorities say ‘Kadyrovites’ started a shootout near Mariupol, killing more than 10 people

The Mariupol city council reports that a shootout took place in the village of Urzuf, which Russia has annexed, in the Mariupol district of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, between soldiers from Chechnya and representatives of the local “commander’s office.” 

According to the Mariupol authorities, the Urzuf shootout, which occurred on August 11, killed at least four Russian soldiers. There were also deaths and injuries among the civilian population. The city council posted video footage of the apparent aftermath of the shootout on its Telegram channel.

An adviser to Piotr Andryushenko, the Mayor of Mariupol, said that “by one account, a Kadyrovite got drunk and shot civilians and soldiers.” He says that Chechen security forces were “allowed to take leave in Urzuf.” After the shootout, entry and exit from the city was prohibited.

On the morning of August 13, the mayor’s adviser reported that seven civilians had been killed in Urzuf. Mayor Andryushenko said that two teenage girls, four men, and one women were among the dead. He initially said that three civilians were wounded.

Other, independent sources have not confirmed reports of a shootout in Urzuf, though Ivan Topuzov, the Russian-appointed head of the annexed village told Telegram channel Astra that a shootout did in fact occur in Urzuf. He also reported that there were victims. Topuzov did not know who took part in the shootout and suggested that it was Russian soldiers. Akhmed Dudayev, Chechnya’s Minister for National Politics, called the Ukrainian authorities’ reports “fake” and “cheap falsifications.”