Ukrainian military conducts "manhunt" on Kadyrov's troops in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine's SBU says

Asked whether the Kadyrovtsi, as well as Wagner private military company mercenaries, were fighting in Kharkiv Oblast, Dudin confirmed that the SBU had received intelligence of that nature.

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"As for the Kadyrovtsi, there was such information," he said.

"But our guys have already reached such 'cynicism' in a good way, that as soon as they learned about the presence of these people in the region, they opened a kind of 'safari' on them: trying to launch something at the Kadyrovtsi, private military companies, etc., positions, so that they immediately cease to exist."

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Kadyrovtsi are widely hated in Ukraine for their brutal role in enforcing Kadyrov’s power in Chechnya, and their use of terror tactics against civilians in Ukraine.

Wagner, a so-called “PMC” founded by Putin confidante Yevgeny Prigozhin, is similarly disdained. Wagner mercenaries have been credibly accused of committing crimes against humanity in Africa and Syria, prior to their deployment in Ukraine.