Just to clarify, this guy is allegedly/possibly a Chechen who earned Ukrainian citizenship by joining their International Legion.  He isn't Ukrainian by birth or upbringing, but as a mercenary, he's served with the Ukrainian military for the past 2 years. (Note that the linked post is from January 2023)

A translation of the Rybar summary:

Abdul Hakim Al-Shishani
The leader of Ajnad al-Kavkaz
REAL NAME: Rustam Magomedovich Gadzhiev
YEAR OF BIRTH: 1981
NATIONALITY: Chechen

PARTICIPATION IN THE ARMED FORCES

FORMATIONS:
2000-2009 - Gangs of Chechen militants
2013-2014 - Ansar al-Sham (Sunni rebel group in Syrian Civil War)
2014-2015 - Jamaat al-Hilafa al-Kavkaziya
2015-2021 (?) - Ajnad al-Kavkaz (Sunni rebel group in Syrian Civil War, which he is/was the leader of)
— 2015 - 2017 - as part of the Jaish al-Fatah coalition
— 2018 - 2021 - as part of the operational headquarters Al-Fatah al-Mubin
2022 is a special battalion of a separate assignment of Ichkeria as part of the International Legion of Ukraine

Rustam Magomedovich Azhiev (AKA Abdul Hakim Al-Shishani) has a Wikipedia page & was balls deep in both the Syrian "Civil War" & Ukraine. If this is one of the guys, Ukraine is in deep shit, lol.

Chechen Leader Spotted in Bakhmut, Fighting Against Russia
https://theatlasnews.co/conflict/2023/01/09/chechen-leader-spotted-in-bakhmut-fighting-against-russia/

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (270K subscribers):

Chechen volunteers as part of the International Legion @ DI_Ukraine continue to defend # Ukraine in the hotpots of the front. Among the volunteers is Abdul Hakim, the hero of the Ichkerian people. Currently, the Chechen division is fighting against the # russian occupiers in # Bakhmut
https://twitter.com/DI_Ukraine/status/1611647991185645568

(continued)

Then, in October, the field commander Rustam Azhiev — better known as Abdulhakim al-Shishani, and one of the most experienced Chechen militants still alive — arrived in Ukraine from Syria, where he had led the Islamist group Ajnad al-Kavkaz in its fight against the Russian-backed Assad regime for nearly a decade. Almost immediately, Zakaev appointed him as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Ichkerian armed forces-in-exile.

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/12/15/ichkeria-dreamin



Chechen fighters leave Syria to battle Russians in Ukraine

Abdul Hakim al-Shishani, a veteran of the Chechen-Russian war in the 1990s and commander of the Ajnad al-Kavkaz group fighting Syrian government forces in Latakia, arrived in Ukraine with a group of Chechen fighters to battle Russian forces.

https://archive.is/hda8w

🇷🇺💥🇺🇦 If this is one of the captured shooters, Russia surely knows by now that the mall shooting was done by lifelong mercenaries who had served in the CIA's war against Assad in Syria and had served in Ukraine, with extensive connections to Ukrainian military leadership, including their Director of Military Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov.

Russia is apparently launching a major counterattack, to be unleashed shortly.  I'm not sure how the scale will compare to previous attacks, but I think it's going to be significant.

Although it's pure speculation on my part, considering the scale & brutality of the mall attack in Moscow and the connections of the perpetrators to the Ukrainian military, there is a distinct possibility that Russia will officially declare war.

Apparently Azhiev is the leader of a group known to have been conducting attacks within the borders of Russia.  Take note that this post is from March 19th, about an event on March 18th — 4 days prior to yesterday's mall attack.  If it's him, this ain't his first rodeo.

(still no absolute confirmation that Azhiev is one of the captured terrorists though)

https://t.me/BellumActaNews/116747

Various sources have claimed that the current number of airborne TU-95 is now up to 14 or 15

🚨👍Tu-95MS Strategists conducted launches.

Kh-101 Cruise Missiles are on the way.👍🚨

Look how they massacred my boy

RIP Mr Krabs (1999-2024)

Масштабна повітряна тривога! Ракети з Тушок вже на підльоті!

ТРУХА⚡️Україна | Надіслати новину

🇷🇺❌🇺🇦❗️ — At least 19x explosions in Stryi, on the Ukrainian side of the Polish-Ukrainian border!

Ukrainian media reports that ALL missiles that are currently in the airspace of Ukraine are headed for the Lviv region, which is located on the Polish-Ukrainian border!