Media logo
Ayman Eckford photo
Ayman Eckford
3 Posts
0 Followers
Ayman Eckford is a Ukrainian civil rights activist, political expert, and journalist, who currently lives in Sheffield. He is focused on the Chechen-Ukrainian relationship and Russian abuse of the ?
Opinion | Chechen volunteer battalions have been abandoned by Ukraine
Chechnya

Opinion | Chechen volunteer battalions have been abandoned by Ukraine

A

Despite verbal support for an independent Chechnya, Ukraine has abandoned Chechen fighters who have been fighting on their side against Russia for a decade. Is Russian cultural influence and propaganda the main reason behind this, and if so, what does it mean for Ukraine’s ability to stand against Russian aggression in general?  In October 2022, Ukraine’s parliament recognised the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as an independent state that is ‘temporarily’ occupied by Russia, and condemned ‘t

The author, and a Ukrainian-Chechen protest in Sheffield.
Chechnya

Opinion | Fighting on two fronts: Chechen activists in the West

A

Exiled from their republic due to threats to their lives, Chechen activists in the West navigate a difficult balance between visibility and caution, facing erasure by both Russian and Western society. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine might offer Chechnya and its activists a shift in the tides.  ‘Ukraine’s incredible incursion into the Kursk region made me finally believe that Russia could soon be defeated’. This is what Ali Bakaev, a Chechen online activist who now lives in London tells m