Ukrainian Foreign Legion[1] Rustam Magomedovich Azhiev (Chechen: Мохмад ВоӀ Рустам, romanized: Moxmad Vo' Rustam) also known by the pseudonym Abdul Hakim al-Shishani (Arabic: عبد الحكيم الشيشاني) is commander-in-chief[2] of the Chechen battalion OBON (part of the Ichkerian armed forces-in-exile)[3] fighting on the Ukrainian side in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

[5] After finishing school he enrolled in the pedagogical university of Grozny, but had to stop his studies due to the outbreak of the Second Russo-Chechen war.

In the course of the war Azhiev rose up in ranks and was appointed commander of the central sector of the Caucasus Emirate's Vilayat Nokhchicho in 2007.

[11] After settling once again in Turkey, he found himself targeted by a small hit squad who were ordered to assassinate their primary target, "a Chechen dissident living in Turkey named ‘Abdulhakim, who had fought for the opposition in Syria" according to the Turkish intelligence agency MİT, who were able to arrest the assassins before they could carry out their mission, which they believe was ordered by FSB and the pro-Moscow Chechen president, Ramzan Kadyrov.

[12][13] Reports of Azhiev's decision to join the fight against Russia in Ukraine first appeared in March 2022[14] and were confirmed in October, when the prime minister of the government-in-exile of the Chechen Republic Ichkeria, Akhmed Zakayev, appointed him as deputy commander-in-chief of the armed Ichkerian forces.