ARM THEM AND RECOGNIZE THEIR INDEPENDENT NATIONS:

For many exiled Chechens, Putin is treating Ukrainians the way he treated them.

"Moscow's attempts today to impose its control over independent Ukraine resonates in the hearts and minds of many Chechens who remember their struggle for independence against the Russian colonizing machine," Albert Bininachvili, a professor of political science at Bologna University, told DW.

Putin aspires to expand Russia's domination to the Soviet borders, he explained, but without the intention of bringing back the Soviet system, "which in effect leaves us with nothing but Russian colonialism." [...]

"Chechens consider the war in Ukraine as a continuation of the war in Chechnya," Iliyasov said. "So they want to contribute to eventual victory against this perceived evil -- something not achieved on Chechen soil."

"That's alongside another motivation, which is a kind of moral obligation to help people who are in such situations, and showing solidarity with them," he added.

Cheberloevsky, the head of the Sheikh Mansur Battalion, also considers the latest fighting as part of a much longer conflict. He said in an interview with Radio Free Europe's Caucasus service, "We have been fighting in Ukraine since 2014 to beat our common enemy."

Akhmed Zakayev, the head of the Chechen separatist government in exile, encouraged all Chechens living abroad to fight alongside the Ukrainian government in a video shared on social media.

Chechens are not the only Muslim group assisting Ukrainians.

Said Ismagilov, one of Ukraine's top Islamic leaders, who is of Tatar origin, posted a picture of himself in a military uniform beside the members of the Territorial Defence Forces in Kyiv. In another video, he called on the Muslims in the world to stand in solidarity with Ukraine.

The Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic minority indigenous to Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014,  have been resisting Russian occupation since 2015, with some of them fighting in the Ukrainian armed forces. 

In a video widely shared by Ukrainian media, Ayder Rustemov, the head of Crimea's Muslim community as recognized by Ukraine, urged Ukrainian Muslims to defend their country and called on Russian Muslims to denounce Russia's aggression.

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