he commander of Russia's Chechen forces appeared on Russian state TV to argue that Russia is engaged in a "holy war" in Ukraine.
Apti Alaudinov, an aide to Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov and commander of the Akhmat special operations unit in Ukraine, according to TASS, made his comments to Russia-1 host Olga Skabeyeva on a recent segment, found and translated by Daily Beast columnist Julia Davis, creator of the Russian Media Monitor. Alaudinov, apparently returned from fighting in Ukraine, made a number of claims, calling upon Muslim-Christian unity in a conflict against the "satanic" West.
"All forces and units fighting on the side of Russia is the army of Jesus, Isa Alaihis Salam. We are fighting against these forces that impose upon us everything that is unpleasant and disliked by God. Everything that is unnatural for a man," he said, referring to homosexuality. "Underneath this democracy of America, the main enemy of mankind, and Europe, the minion of the NATO bloc, which carries within it everything that is Satanic."
He then predicted the fall of the United States and Europe, saying, "They are the ones who are cold, they have no gas. Those people in this world who say they are cold are the ones following European values. The most High will warm them up on judgment day, in hell," at which point host Skabeyeva smiled and laughed in agreement. He also lambasted Islamic countries for not having the courage to "fight back" against the U.S. and NATO like Putin. The law should be changed to allow foreign fighters, he claimed, because numerous Arabs, Greeks, and Serbs are eager to fight on Russia's side, "because they still have God in their hearts, they don't want to live under LGBT flags."
Russian law has sought to suppress public expressions of the LGBT community. A bill has been introduced to Russia's lower House Duma that would prohibit the portrayal of "non-traditional sexual relationships" publicly, along with other "problematic" topics such as suicide and drug use, according to the Jerusalem Post.