Thread by @vera_mironov

AbdulHakim Shishani (#Chechen) - from fighting with Islamists in #Syria (on the picture he is with an Iranian fighter with very radical Jund Al Aqsa in Aleppo) to giving speeches in Ukraine. What is going on? (Spoiler: none actually knows). Thread 👇

1) AbdulHakim never fought with #ISIS, but he fought in operations with for example Jund Al Aqsa (very radical) &Al Nusra (terrorist group). And what he was doing for #ISIS is helping males escape to Idlib (I know several such folks &his own group members are not even hiding it).

2) He was also involved in kidnapping of a #British citizen in Idlib for ransom and had to even officially apologize for it (see picture). Two people from his group were arrested by HTS and at least one was let out several years later after a big bribe was paid (I talked to him).

3)when war in #Ukraine started he was arrested by #Turkey for killing (they were also into crime in Turkey) but then released in October 2023 &in less then a week appeared in #Ukraine with a group of 10 people. There he immediately started giving public statements and interviews.

4) not clear how he entered #Ukraine. #Poland security knows him very well (his family lives there). Islamist channels also published his brand new #Ukraine passport but official SBU said that he does not have it (face searched database). His interview did not clarify it either.

5) what is he doing in #Ukraine exactly is also not clear. He came in October 2022 and only 4 months later !!! (January 2023) came to the frontline (before that he was in Kyiv). As usually his appearance on the frontline was immediately publicized.

6)this video was published by GUR, but official SBU is saying that “they are aware of the situation and are seriously investigating it”-I guess there is usual internal security service conflict. US &Germany are already not ok with it and from what I know made their opinion known.

7) it is not the first time Islamists are brought in from #Idlib to #Ukraine. In 2015 a much more serious group (45 people) was brought in but kicked out in 3 month-they were useless and uncontrollable (surprise surprise :) That group was under AbdulWaheed theguardian.com/world/2016/jan…

8)At the same time UKR counter terror is doing their job. A Chechen member of Ahmed Chataev secret ISIS group (was supposed to enter #Russia from Ukriane &Georgia to start insurgency) is in prison in #Ukriane. And several years ago Al Bara (important ISIS Chechen) was deported.

9) Outside of social media AbdulHakim in UKR is not important at all (one person, seriously? :) On the other side of cause this is already widely used by #Russia in their propaganda. But with all recent scandals with foreign legion I guess SBU is serious about their job here.