Vostok-Akhmat Battalion — One of Chechnya’s Defence Ministry units
This profile provides key details about the Vostok-Akhmat Battalion, one of several “Chechen” units created within Russia’s Ministry of Defence. Created in summer 2022, it has participated in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Profile last updated: 1 May 2024.
Key takeaways from the profile
- Vostok-Akhmat is one of four “Chechen” units within the Russian Defence Ministry created in mid-2022. It is constituted as a battalion; Zapad-Akhmat and Yug-Akhmat were likewise designated as battalions,whereas Sever-Akhmat was constituted as a regiment.
- The Vostok-Akhmat Battalion is subordinate to the 291st Regiment, part of Russia’s 58th Army of the Southern Military District.
- It has participated in Russia’s war on Ukraine, fighting on the Zaporizhzhia and Orikhiv “fronts,” but has been less active than Sever-Akhmat and Zapad-Akhmat.
Overview
- What is the Vostok-Akhmat Battalion?
- Who is a member of the Vostok-Akhmat Battalion?
- Where does the Vostok-Akhmat Battalion operate?
- Other notable details
- Sources
What is the Vostok-Akhmat Battalion?
The Vostok-Akhmat Battalion is a “Chechen” unit within the Russian Ministry of Defence. It is commanded by Vakha Kambulatov (Askhab), who replaced founding commander Aslanbek Saliyev (Zakat) in June 2023 (Meduza, 2024; Telegram, 2023; Caucasian Knot, 2023). Kambulatov had previously served as deputy commander (Telegram, 2023).
Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov announced plans to create four such units – the Sever-Akhmat regiment and the Yug-Akhmat, Zapad-Akhmat, and Vostok-Akhmat battalions – on 26 June 2022 (Telegram, 2022). On 28 June, Kadyrov said that the process of forming Zapad-Akhmat and Vostok-Akhmat was already complete (Caucasian Knot, 2022).
Vostok-Akhmat is subordinate to the 291st Regiment, which forms part of Russia’s 58th Army of the Russian Southern Military District (ChGTRK Groznyy, 2023). Kavkaz Realii noted that it was unclear why Sever-Akhmat had been constituted as a regiment, when the other three Akhmat Ministry of Defence units had been designated as battalions (Kavkaz Realii, 2022).
Where is Vostok-Akhmat based?
The base of the Vostok-Akhmat Battalion is in Khankala, Chechnya (43°17’53.74″N, 45°45’18.27″E) (Argumenty i Fakty Stavropol, 2023).
Its deployment to Ukraine is based near Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Meduza, 2024).
Who is a member of the Vostok-Akhmat Battalion?
Major Vakha Khambulatov (Askhab) was appointed as unit commander on 16 June 2023 (Meduza, 2024; Telegram, 2023; Caucasian Knot, 2023).
Aslanbek Saliyev (Zakat) commanded the battalion until June 2023, when he was appointed commander of Akhmat-Chechnya (Telegram, 2023; Caucasian Knot, 2023).
When the unit was created, Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov stated it would be comprised exclusively of Chechen fighters (Telegram, 2022). Reports on the deaths of the units fighters listed below indicate that this is not the case.
Members of Vostok-Akhmat reported killed
Date | Name | Rank | Place of origin | Location killed | Source |
6 November 2022 | Magomed Yediyev | Unknown | Beno-Yurt, Nadterechnyy Rayon, Chechnya | Lishichansk | |
8 December 2023* | Ruslan Bogutov | Unknown | Kagalnitskoy, Rostov Oblast | Zaporizhzhia Oblast | |
8 December 2023* | Valeriy Skachko | Unknown | Kagalnitskoy, Rostov Oblast | Zaporizhzhia Oblast |
* Date reported; date of actual death unknown
Gallery of Vostok-Akhmat members
Where does the Vostok-Akhmat Battalion operate?
Ukraine
The following table details the activities of the unit, as reported by the Chechen authorities, the unit itself, or other pro-Russian sources. These constitute an admission of the unit's involvement in specific parts of Russia's broader aggression in Ukraine:
Date | Area of operation | Details |
September 2022 | Donbass | Kadyrov reported on 16 September 2022 that both Zapad-Akhmat and Vostok-Akhmat had deployed to the Donbass (Telegram, 2022). |
November 2022 | Lisichansk, Luhansk Oblast | Fighter Magomed Yediyev killed in Ukrainian military strike on unit in Lisichansk (Kavkaz Realii, 2022). |
February 2023 | Zaporizhzhia Oblast | Kadyrov claimed that Sever-Akhmat, Yug-Akhmat, Vostok-Akhmat, and Zapad-Akhmat had all received “humanitarian” supplies from the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation (Telegram, 2023). |
April 2023 | Zaporizhzhia front | Kadyrov reported that Vostok-Akhmat had repelled Ukrainian attacks on the front (Telegram, 2023). |
June 2023 | Zaporizhzhia Oblast | Kadyrov reported that Russia’s 58th Army — including units from the regiments Akhmat-Rossiya, Akhmat-Chechnya and Sever-Akhmat and the battalions Vostok-Akhmat, Yug-Akhmat and Zapad-Akhmat — had destroyed a large number of Ukrainian tanks participating in a counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia Oblast (ChGTRK Groznyy, 2023). |
June 2023 | Orikhiv front | Kadyrov claimed that Vostok-Akhmat had participated in Russia’s successful repulsion of a Ukrainian counterattack on the front (Telegram, 2023). |
June 2023 | Orikhiv front | Kadyrov reported that the battalion was maintaining defences on the front (Telegram, 2023). |
August 2023 | Orikhiv and Zaporizhzhia fronts, including near village of Rabotino | Kadyrov reported that the battalion was maintaining defences on the Orekhovskiy front and also engaged in combat on the Zaporizhzhia front (Telegram, 2023; Telegram, 2023). |
September 2023 | near Rabotino, Zaporizhzhia Oblast | Kadyrov reported that the battalion was opposing Ukrainian forces near the village (Telegram, 2023). |
January 2024 | near Rabotino, Zaporizhzhia Oblast | Kadyrov reported that the battalion was fighting Ukrainian forces near the village (Telegram, 2024). |
January 2024 | Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast | See discussion of incidents. |
February 2024 | near Rabotino, Zaporizhzhia Oblast | Kadyrov reported that the battalion was fighting Ukrainian forces near the village, alongside a combined detachment of the Chechen Interior Ministry under the command of Iskhak Chalayev and Isa Zakriyev (Telegram, 2024). |
April 2024 | near Rabotino, Zaporizhzhia Oblast | Kadyrov reported that the battalion was fighting Ukrainian forces near the village (Telegram, 2024). |
Other notable details
Noteworthy incidents and events
Khambulatov was awarded the Order of Kadyrov in October 2023 for his services in Ukraine (Argumenty i Fakty Stavropol, 2023). In April 2024, he was also awarded Hero of Chechnya, the republic’s highest state honour (Kavkaz Realii, 2024).
Russian “military correspondents” disseminated a video online showing battalion commander Khambulatov involved in a violent confrontation with Russian military personnel during an attempted document check in Melitopol, Ukraine. National Policy Minister Akhmed Dudayev dismissed the incident as a deliberate “provocation” (Meduza, 2024; OC Media, 2024).
International response
Neither Vostok-Akhmat, Khambulatov, or Saliyev have been sanctioned by the US, the UK, the EU, or Ukraine, despite their extensive involvement in Russia's "special military operation.”
