Noah Krieger (real name: Murad Dadaev), a former member of the far-right German party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD), has arrived in the combat zone in Ukraine and announced his intention to fight on Russia's side. Krieger-Dadaev shared news of his decision on Instagram, a platform he has been actively using since a trip to Chechnya.

Krieger began posting the first videos—reportedly filmed in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine—about a week ago. His posts indicate that he visited Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. In the footage, he poses by the city’s entrance sign and near the ruined Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant. Additionally, some videos show Krieger-Dadaev alongside fighters from the "Akhmat" unit.

"I came here personally to see with my own eyes what is shown on TV and what the news remains silent about. I am here to witness everything firsthand. This is no joke, brothers. This is a brutal reality where the fate of our Mother Rus' is being decided," Krieger-Dadaev explains regarding the purpose of his trip in one of the videos.

He goes on to state: "I am in Ukraine and I stand with Russia. It is not about who is right, but about the struggle against Western policies that are destroying our German values."

Dadaev had described himself as the "first Chechen in German politics." According to him, he obtained German citizenship in 2024, adopted his wife's surname, and joined the far-right AfD—a party whose platform centers on combating illegal migration. He became a fairly well-known figure in Germany; as a party member, he was one of its most prominent associated influencers. In the spring of 2026, the party announced the start of proceedings to expel him. The move was prompted by a trip Krieger took to Chechnya that attracted significant public attention. During his visit to his homeland, he met with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, underwent marksmanship training with high-ranking commanders from Kadyrov’s inner circle, and met with senior Chechen officials—sharing all of this on Instagram, not without a sense of pride.

Murad Dadaev is also known as the younger brother of Suleiman Dadaev, whom Austrian police identified as a participant in the 2009 Vienna murder of Umar Israilov, a former bodyguard to Ramzan Kadyrov.

Umar Israilov, the Chechen leader’s former bodyguard, had been granted political asylum in Austria and had publicly accused his former boss of torture, even filing a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. According to Austrian investigators, a group of perpetrators initially planned to kidnap him; however, after the operation failed, Israilov was shot dead in central Vienna. Three men of Chechen origin were subsequently convicted in the case, including Suleiman Dadaev, who received a 19-year prison sentence for complicity in the murder.

In March of this year, the investigative project Correctiv reported that Suleiman Dadaev had been released on parole back in 2022. He subsequently returned to Russia, changed his name, and—according to journalists—later traveled back to Germany despite an active entry ban. This story became the subject of a separate Correctiv investigation into potential lapses within European migration and law enforcement agencies.