Chechen commander in Ukraine drawn into Russian intrigue

23 hours ago

By NICHOLAS WALLER

Source:Yahoo News

LYSYCHANSK, Ukraine (AP) — From a dimly lit room at his base in eastern Ukraine, the commander of a battalion of Chechens fighting Russia-backed rebels looked shaken as TV broadcast news of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov's slaying. Adam Osmayev hailed Nemtsov as a "true hero" both for condemning Russia's war against separatists in Chechnya and for decrying Russian intervention in the current conflict in Ukraine.

"Watch them try to tie Ukraine to this (murder) in some way," Osmayev added.

He was half-joking. But two weeks later, Kremlin-friendly Russian newspapers published reports based on unidentified sources in the security services that accused the Ukrainian government and also Osmayev himself of ordering the Feb. 27 murder of Nemtsov in central Moscow in an attempt to destabilize Russia.

Osmayev denies involvement and no evidence has been presented linking him to the hit on Nemtsov, who was a relentless critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Attempts to implicate the British-educated Chechen commander appear to be part of efforts aimed at deflecting attention from anyone close to Putin, including his security services and the powerful leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Within days of Nemtsov's assassination, investigators arrested five Chechens, including a senior officer in Kadyrov's police force, and charged them with carrying out the killing. All five have denied the charges.

The arrests heralded a crisis in relations between the Kremlin and Kadyrov, who rules Chechnya like a personal fiefdom. With generous subsidies from Moscow, he has rebuilt the region after two separatist wars and has relied on his feared security forces to track down and kill foes. His men have steadily expanded their sway beyond Chechnya to control lucrative businesses in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia.

Leaders of federal law enforcement agencies have watched Kadyrov's growing power with dismay and have made no secret of their desire to curb him. Some observers speculated that the killing might have been ordered by Kadyrov's enemies in the federal government — an attempt to prompt Putin to fire or at least punish the Chechen leader.

If such a plan existed, it underestimated Putin's reliance on Kadyrov. The relative stability in Chechnya is seen as one of Putin's main achievements, and he sees the burly red-haired Chechen strongman as key to maintaining the status quo.

Putin quickly sent a signal that he intended to stand by Kadyrov by awarding him the Order of Honor for distinguished public service, a day after Kadyrov spoke out in defense of the arrested Chechens.

The arrests were a rare case in which federal law enforcement agents managed to nab a member of Kadyrov's security force, but the investigation then seemed to fizzle.

Russian media, citing investigators, have pointed to a possible link between the suspected triggerman, Zaur Dadaev, and his commander, Ruslan Geremeyev, a senior officer in the Chechen police force. But Geremeyev is in Chechnya and off limits to federal investigators.

Russian newspapers have floated a variety of theories about the killing that have muddied the waters — a possible attempt to defuse tensions with Kadyrov.

Some reports claimed that investigators believe Dadaev and his suspected accomplices could have acted on their own, even though most observers agree that a senior officer in Kadyrov's security force would not have acted without sanction from his superiors.

Dadaev, in turn, has rescinded his initial testimony, saying he was beaten and pressured to confess.

The reports pointing to Osmayev, a Kadyrov foe, were seen as part of these efforts to deflect attention.

"State-controlled media have put forward a theory that is politically satisfying for Russia's security forces, the Kremlin, Kadyrov and all of their rival groups — namely, that Chechen Adam Osmayev ordered Nemtsov's murder," political analyst Georgy Bovt wrote in a commentary published in The Moscow Times.

Osmayev, 33, has a troubled history with both Kadyrov and Putin.

After graduating from Wycliffe College, a prestigious private school in Britain, and attending the University of Buckingham, he returned to his native Chechnya shortly after the second war there ended in 2000. He worked alongside his father, who had been appointed the head of Chechnya's state oil company.

Chechnya at that time was led by Kadyrov's father. After his assassination in 2004, power passed to his son, Ramzan, and his relationship with the Osmayevs quickly deteriorated in a dispute over lucrative energy contracts. The Osmayevs fled to Ukraine.

In February 2012, Adam Osmayev was arrested at Russia's behest and charged with planning an assassination attempt against Putin. Ukraine at the time had a pro-Kremlin government. Osmayev spent three years in detention until being released in November 2014 by Ukraine's new Western-leaning government.

Shortly after his release, he joined a battalion formed by prominent Chechen commander Isa Munayev to fight against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. When Munayev was killed on Feb. 1, Osmayav took over the command.

His battalion includes several dozen Chechens, many with combat experience gained in the separatist wars in their homeland against Russian army troops. They regularly get calls from Ukrainian army units asking them to carry out reconnaissance missions or diversionary raids behind rebel lines.

Hundreds of Chechens also are fighting on the separatist side. They first joined the rebels last summer in the early stages of the conflict, and with their combat gear and professional demeanor they stood out among what was then a ragtag local force. Kadyrov has described pro-Russia Chechens fighting in Ukraine as volunteers, the same explanation the Kremlin provides for the Russians among the separatist forces.

Osmayev said he has few doubts that the perpetrators of Nemtsov's killing have ties to Kadyrov, but that the security services now need a convenient scapegoat whose guilt would be easily acceptable to the Russian general public.

"The fact the FSB is . trying to somehow implicate me in Nemtsov's murder is utterly ridiculous," Osmayev said, "but not hard to believe now that I am involved in the situation here in Ukraine."

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Lynn Berry and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

Putin threatens to make Ukraine pay ahead for gas

17 hours ago
By PETER LEONARD and LAURA MILLS
Source: Yahoo News

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Wednesday to start charging Ukraine in advance for vital natural gas supplies — a move that could sharply hurt his neighbor, which is already on the verge of bankruptcy.

It was just the latest way Moscow is putting pressure on Ukraine since its pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power in February after months of street protests.

Meanwhile, NATO's top military commander in Europe told The Associated Press that countermoves to the Russian military threat against Ukraine could include sending American troops to alliance nations in Eastern Europe feeling at risk.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he wouldn't "write off involvement by any nation, to include the United States."

"Essentially what we are looking at is a package of land, air and maritime measures that would build assurance for our easternmost allies," he said.

Putin, who was chairing a meeting with government ministers in his suburban residence outside Moscow, Putin said asking for advance gas payments "corresponded with the contract" between Ukraine and Russia. Still, he suggested that the state energy giant Gazprom to refrain from such drastic measures until "additional consultations" between both sides.

Russia has already eliminated a gas discount it had given Ukraine, arguing that it was tied to a lease for Russia's Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia annexed last month. And Ukraine has promised the International Monetary Fund that it will cut energy subsidies to residents in exchange for a bailout loan of up to $14 billion — so gas prices were set to rise 50 percent on May 1 even before the latest salvo from Putin.

Speaking in Kiev earlier, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said Ukraine will pay for March deliveries of gas from Russia only after it reaches an agreement on the price. He rejected the new, much higher price that Gazprom announced earlier and said Ukraine has not pumped in any gas from Russia so far this month.

Authorities in Kiev also warned Wednesday they are prepared to use force to clear several government buildings seized by pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the standoff in Luhansk and the two neighboring Russian-leaning regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv must be resolved within the next two days.

"I want to repeat that there are two options: political settlement through negotiations and the use of force," Avakov told reporters. "We are ready for both options."

As he spoke, anti-government protesters in Luhansk erected high barricades along a thoroughfare running in front of the security service premises.

All the cities affected by the uprisings are in Ukraine's industrial Russian-speaking heartland in the east, which has a large population of ethnic Russians and where economic and cultural ties to Russia are strong. Many residents are suspicious of government that took power in February.

In a sign of the public relations battle going on between the two nations, some Russian media — including state-run RIA Novosti — switched their description of those occupying the buildings from pro-Russian protesters to "supporters of federalization."

Protesters continued to occupy the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service in the eastern city of Luhansk, with hundreds of supporters camped outside and shouting "Putin! Putin!" overnight.

The security agency had said the separatists inside the building, armed with explosives and other weapons, were threatening hostages inside. The hostages — 56 in all —were allowed to leave the building overnight, it said. Local police disputed that claim, however, saying there had been no hostages.

Serhiy Tyhipko, a Ukrainian lawmaker associated with Yanukovych's ousted government, urged the new authorities in Kiev not to storm the building in Luhansk but rather negotiate a peaceful resolution. He said the protesters wanted Ukraine to turn into a federal state with broad regional autonomy, not for their region to secede.

"The people are not bringing up the issue of breaking off from Ukraine and are not calling for the help of foreign countries," Tyhipko said on his Facebook page.

But turning Ukraine into a federation is Russia's key demand — one Ukraine's new government has refused to discuss, calling it a precursor to a breakup.

In the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, where protesters were still occupying another government building, regional governor Serhiy Taruta met with key activists to try to find a solution to the crisis.

The Donetsk activists sounded optimistic after the talks, with leading figure Denis Bulishin hailing the opportunity for dialogue but stopping short of talking about any tangible results.

Ukraine's government and the U.S. have accused Moscow of fomenting the unrest as a pretext for another Russian military incursion similar to last month's takeover of Crimea. Up to 40,000 Russian troops are massed along the Ukrainian border, according to NATO.

The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back at the West on Wednesday, calling for the U.S. to stop using international organizations as a means of "exacerbating tensions surrounding Ukraine."

"The daily activity of Russian troops on national territory does not threaten the security of the U.S. or other member states of the OSCE," it said. "Attempts to accuse Russia of a buildup of troops are unfounded."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday called on Moscow to ease tensions, saying it's "beyond any doubt, that the country that has contributed to this conflict — Russia — is responsible for the de-escalation."

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John-Thor Dahlburg in Paris, Maria Danilova in Kiev, Laura Mills in Moscow and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.