Original subtitles

Bienvenue to Swap to reporters here in France 24.

I'm Marco In. Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine,

many Muslims have been involved in the war effort,

forming several battalions on the front

line, ordinary people helping them get ready.

If the majority of these women and men are Ukrainian,

there are also grounds where the Muslims

coming from the Caucasus among them, Chechens.

On the 18th of October, the Kiev Parliament

recognize the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkria,

when it's occupation by Russia.

Together, the Muslims have faced up to their common enemy,

Russia, while defending the values of Ukraine.

Our reporter, Ray Abuzadeh, who made this report,

joined the Snow Rade, some considered it a jihad

and the truest sense of the word inside

a country, which is majority Christian.

Yes, well, nobody in Ukraine called Koli-Jihad,

but they consider themselves an jihad,

because they are fighting for their country,

they are defending their houses and they are defending their family.

We met them off to you who said,

"We can't call it a jihad," because Ukraine is a secular country,

and the Mofti doesn't have the authority to call a jihad.

Right, thank you very much.

Let's take a look at another report by Anna Isgerar,

Ray Abuzadeh, who went to meet these Muslims

united in the fight for Ukraine's survival.

An ambulance on its way back from the front,

on board, a soldier with a bullet in his abdomen.

You okay? It's fine. Hang on, we'll be there in 10 minutes.

The war has turned Said Ismail al-F into a first-aid volunteer.

Since the 1st of December, we've been evacuating the wounded every day,

at the moment there's street fighting,

so we're getting a lot of bullet wounds.

This is as far as we're allowed to go.

The hospital's location is a secret.

Next stop, the Constantinovka Mosque.

26 kilometers from the front line, the sound of shell fire never stops.

Dressed in military fatigues,

the Imam and former Mufti leads the Friday prayers.

In conditions of war, the religious tax take on a particular resonance.

The Imam urges his congregation to defend the country.

I'm convinced this is a jihad because, according to Sharia law,

we have the right to defend our lives, families and property.

But I'm calling for the defense of Ukraine, not for jihad,

because Ukraine is a secular country.

Ukraine is mostly Christian, but there are half a million Muslims,

around 1% of the population.

Many have joined the armed forces since the Russian invasion,

like Muhammad Ali.

There was a battle here on February 27th

when a small group of Russians got into town.

His hometown went up in smoke.

We saw everything with our own eyes.

The school was burning,

and we could smell the bodies consumed by fire.

It was like nothing I've ever experienced before.

It was a turning point for Muhammad.

He joined those in the Kharkif Muslim community who've decided to fight.

You're right on time for the food brother. Let's eat!

And it's there he met Hajmurad, a voluntary chaplain in the army.

As you know, our men are dying.

Young men are going to war,

and we Bury many of them without being able to identify their bodies.

Can we forgive that? Absolutely not.

This is something new for a Muslim community used to keeping to itself.

Before, the political system followed Russian propaganda.

Muslims were accused of being terrorists,

but now society has become more mature.

We're accepted for what we are, and that allows us to be more active.

At the Islamic Cultural Center, everyone plays a part in the war effort.

After work, Natalia Mansur makes candles for the soldiers and the trenches.

It's to help them keep warm, make food, and give them a bit of comfort.

It's the way of saying they're not forgotten.

We want to help them because this affects all of us.

Natalia learned how to make them on YouTube,

and these dark times being able to

contribute in this way gives her some hope.

How do I feel?

My heart is filled with joy.

I'm found to be able to do something.

However small.

The next day, the candles and other supplies

are loaded up by Muhammad Ali and Hajmurad.

The two friends are off to supply the soldiers at the front.

Destination Bach Mut.

Everything can change in an instant, which is why we always have a plan,

but God alone knows what will happen.

We approach a town under constant attack by the Russians.

To reach the Ukrainian positions, we have to take this dirt strike.

But just as we're entering the town,

our car hits a concrete block.

I've broken the wheel.

Have you got a cable?

Pull it there. Take it a bit closer.

We're stuck between two artillery positions.

We have to get the journalists out. The press can't stay here.

To be safe, Hajmurad quickly decides to hitch a

ride with these men from the Chechen battalion.

Let's go.

We move deeper into the depths of a town under siege.

The road is a ghost town.

That wasn't far away.

Sheltering in the basement, Hajmurad,

the Chaplin, gathers news from the front.

Yesterday, we learned that the Russian invaders were close to Bach Mut.

But our brothers have just told us that they've pushed them back.

Our resistance fills us with joy.

The Chaplin's presence is a source of valued support for the soldiers.

Thank God our brother comes to see us regularly.

He helps raise our morale. We're happy to see him.

Together, we're going to win.

The Russians are fighting side by side against their common enemy, Russia.

Muslim Cherpoloyski is the commander in

chief of the Chechen Sheikh Mansur battalion.

He's been fighting in the Donbass since 2015.

The Russians have forced this war on us.

That's why we have to fight them and survive using every possible means.

Most of the time, we use guerrilla tactics because

we don't have enough military equipment to go

face to face with them on equal terms.

We don't have aircraft, tanks, artillery or rocket launchers.

As we prepare to leave, Nuredin makes

sure there are no snipers waiting outside.

His fight against the Russians began in Chechnya when he was just 14.

I'll never forgive the Russians for what they have done in my country.

Never. I'll fight against his regime until I die or until it is destroyed.

I think that Europe and the entire world have

now understood who the real terrorists are.

More than 700 kilometers away in Kiev, Maga

another Chechen is also fighting the Russians.

After studying in France, he joined the Jochardudayev battalion.

A specialist in military intelligence, he

keeps his face hidden while we speak.

What you see there is a heavy machine gun.

We captured it from the Russians at Isian.

There were a lot of abandoned tanks.

War trophies that make it possible for

Maga and his battalion to support the army.

Ukraine seems ready to fight to the end.

So we're going to stay with it until victory.

Look, this is the symbol of the Ukrainian Tatars and the Chechens

and our struggle to defend Ukraine together and destroy the Red Terror.

The Tatars come from Crimea, converted to Islam in the 14th century.

Today they're the largest Muslim community in Ukraine.

They too have Putin in their sides.

All of these books for the libraries occupy

territories because a lot of libraries were destroyed

in these occupied territories.

Ali Maliyov is the deputy director of

the Tatars Cultural Institute of Ukraine.

He's seeking to preserve the identity of his people.

In the beginning of 2014, Russians try to give us money, some benefits, etc.

But almost all Crimea and Tatars said, no, we have

won Masalandits Ukraine and our land is Crimea.

If we try to sacrifice Crimea and to present Crimea for Russia,

it means that this war will be the war of our next generations.

Allah is my people.

Today, Ali and the Tatars are burying one of their soldiers.

Seran Kadirov died in Bachmuth.

In this war, one more Crimea and Tatars, one more

Muslim, one more Ukrainian, one more brave human

of this land who struggle for this land.

For the fighters of the Crimean battalion, only

Ukraine's victory can restore the dignity of the

deceased.

It's very difficult to express everything I feel.

For most of us here, he was a brother. I don't

even have the words to tell you how close we were.

It's a very heavy loss for all of us. And we will take our revenge.

This is the price of war, the tears and the blood that has been shed.

In this Christian cemetery, a new plot has been set aside for Muslims.

The body of the soldier is buried in the earth for which he gave his life.

Our reporter, Ray Dabuzad, is the Willis raid we

saw in the report just how units from Chechnya

fight against Russia.

What is their motivation?

The first motivation is the commune. As you

said, the Russia still a commune. The second the.

parliament, the rada Ukrainian as you said before, they voted resolution.

Recognized Chechnya as an occupied territory by

Russia, but the third which is the most important

motivation, Ukrainian in the past.

Fought with Chechnya in the two wars, the name

of the guy, Alexander Mosaic, by the Chechnya

fighter, as the brother, who's the only one called

brother, and we used to call him in Grozny, the

Christian brother.

That's why Chechnya considered themselves paying back adept to Ukraine.

Indeed, there is a history there, right? What

about the Tata's? Why have they chosen Ukraine as

that country?

Tata is a different story, different, old and

painful. In 1944, they had been deported by the

Soviet Union to somewhere in Central Asia,

to Siberia more than a quarter of a million.

It has been deported from Crimea. 46% died in this

deportation between the May 18th, 1944 and the

beginning of June.

But now, they have a different story from the 2014,

they don't want to be Russian. They don't want

to be under Russian authority.

We met a lot of them, there's a different message.

We met Isaac Yef, the leader of the Crime Battalion.

We met Tamileta, Tashiva, the permanent representative

of the president of Ukraine. For the Crimea,

let's have a listen to the message that

she's sending to the Tatar and Crimea.

Will they say if you have the possibility to stay in Crimea, stay in Crimea?

If you are in the age when you could mobilize for Russian army, avoid it.

And unfortunately, flee Crimea, yes. But of course,

don't go to Russian army, don't fight against

your own country and your own people.

Different message from the message on the past sent

by Mustafa Jamilov before the fall in invasion,

24th of February, was stay in Crimea.

Don't leave your land. Now the message since

September 2022, the forced mobilization, under Russian

army, the messages don't fight in Russian army, don't be mobilized.

Because Ukrainian, and we'll use today, Tatar,

to use themself today as Ukrainian, Tatar, and

Muslim. Their land is Crimea, but their motherland is Ukraine.

And, dear, lessons of history coming back, right?

Thank you very much indeed. You can see the

report by raid. I was at a, and Agniesz,

a Yera on our website, france24.com.

And indeed, repeated here on france24

throughout the week. Stay with us for more news.