Chechnya-born former AfD influencer claims Russia has formed army unit for German citizens
Murad Dadayev, a Chechnya-born influencer known in Germany as Noah Krieger, has claimed that the Russian army has formed a unit made up of German citizens, The Insider and Important Stories have reported.
Dadayev, who was recently expelled from Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and left the country after a prison sentence against him took effect, announced on Instagram that the new battalion would be called “Krieger” — German for “warrior.” He said the unit would not be sent to the front line, focusing instead on countering drones.
He invited prospective recruits to travel to Russia to discuss joining, listing abstinence from drugs and the exclusion of gay men among the requirements. Knowledge of German and prior combat experience, he added, would count as advantages.
Dadayev accompanied the announcement with the phrase “Gott mit uns” (“God is with us”), a Prussian military motto later adopted by Nazi Germany's armed forces. In a separate post, he used the slogan “Meine Ehre heißt Treue” (“My honor is loyalty”), the motto of the SS.
Dadayev has previously claimed to be fighting on Russia's side against Ukraine, publishing photos and videos of himself in military uniform and carrying weapons. One post was geotagged in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. He reportedly later travelled to Ukraine's Donetsk region alongside a unit of Chechnya's Akhmat battalion and made his way to Avdiivka.
Earlier this year, Dadayev visited Chechnya, where he met with regional officials and security officers, attended a session of the republic's parliament, and underwent firearms training. During the trip, he presented Chechnya's deputy prime minister, Akhmed Dudayev, with a Third Reich–era Luftwaffe dagger bearing a swastika.
Dadayev was born in the Chechen village of Samashki. In Germany, operating under the name Noah Krieger, he became one of the AfD's most popular online influencers.
Following an investigation by Important Stories and Correctiv into his background, Dadayev was evicted from a rented villa where he had hosted meetings between the local AfD chapter and members of the Chechen mafia close to Kadyrov. The villa later burned down under circumstances that remain unclear. The AfD's Lower Saxony branch subsequently began proceedings to expel him from the party.
A German court also sentenced Dadayev to two years and four months in prison on charges of causing grievous bodily harm, hostage-taking, and unlawful coercion; details of the case have not been made public. The verdict took effect in August 2025, but more than six months later, Dadayev left Germany for Russia. How he managed to leave the country remains unknown.
