Magomed Tushayev was allegedly one of the people killed in the apparent destruction of a 56 tank convoy of Chechen fighters in Ukraine on 26 February.
Tushayev’s exact role in the persecution of LGBTQ+ people in Chechnya remains unclear – though human rights organisations have alleged his involvement given his place as a top advisor to President of the Chechen Republic, Ramzán Kadýrov.
The warlord was the head of the 141 Motized Regiment of the Chechnya National Guard and there are conflicting reports over whether or not he was killed by Ukrainian fighters.
Chechen fighters were deployed to Ukraine and told to overthrow its government on 26 February, Reuters confirmed. A video posted online showed Kadyrov gloating that the units had taken no losses and that Ukrainian cities would quickly fall to Russian forces. “As of today, as of this minute, we do not have one single casualty, or wounded, not a single man has even had a runny nose,” he said.