Former AfD influencer travels to Russian-occupied Ukraine, posts from the war zone

Noah Krieger, whose real name is Murad Dadayev and who is originally from Chechnya, previously gained attention as a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. German television channel n-tv reported that he traveled to the war zone in Ukraine to fight on Russia's side, based on a series of videos he posted to Instagram.

Krieger began posting videos six days ago, seemingly from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, according to the Telegram channel Astra. Published photographs appear to place him in the Donetsk region, including Avdiivka. In one image, he stands near the ruins of the Avdiivka Coke Plant; in another, he poses by the sign at the town's entrance. Footage shows him surrounded by fighters from the Chechen Akhmat battalion.

In the caption of one video, Krieger wrote: "I came here myself, in person, and saw with my own eyes what they show on television and what the news keeps silent about. I am here to verify everything firsthand. This is no joke, brothers. This is a brutal reality in which the fate of our Mother Russia is being decided." It is unknown whether Krieger is taking part in the fighting.

Dadayev had presented himself as "the first Chechen in German politics," noted Deutsche Welle. He claimed to have obtained German citizenship through naturalization in 2024 and to have taken his German wife's surname. That same year, he joined the AfD. He has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram.

In its report, iStories noted that he wears German camouflage, uses a motto from Wehrmacht belt buckles in his posts, and quotes the first stanza of the German national anthem — the one Germany itself abandoned after the collapse of National Socialism.

In the spring of 2026, the AfD announced it had begun proceedings to expel Krieger from the party following his trip to Chechnya, where he met with government and security officials.

Murad Dadayev is the younger brother of Suleyman Dadayev, whom Vienna police alleged took part in the 2009 murder of Ramzan Kadyrov's opponent Umar Israilov.