Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Chechnya, said on Monday that he was in Ukraine alongside Russian forces who are leading a offensive in the country.
Kadyrov, who is accused by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of serious human rights violations in the tightly controlled republic of the Caucasus, posted a video on Telegram of himself in military student uniform plans Around a table with soldiers in a play.
He said in a message indicating that the video was shot at Hostomel, an airfield near Kyiv captured by Russian forces in the first days of their offensive. This information could not be independently verified.
“The other day we were about 20 miles away from you Kyiv Nazis and now we are even closer,” Kadyrov wrote. “I will add a plot: maybe we are already in Kyiv and just expect for the necessary commands?”
He called on Ukrainian forces must surrender “or you will be finished”.
“We will do it show you this russian practice teaches war better than foreign theory and recommendations of military advisors”, he added.
In the postKadirov also threatened Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv and called on them to switch sides. “You can relax for a minute because you don’t have to watch for us – we will find you ourselves,” he continued.
Kadyrov, who rules Russian Chechen Republic with an iron fist, is a former rebel turned Kremlin ally with a paramilitary force at son commandment.
At start of the Russian offensiveimages have circulated on social networks showing a square in the Chechen capital Grozny filled with soldiers pretending to be on their way to Ukraine.
Moscow fought two wars with separatists in Chechnya, predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia, after the 1991 break-up of Soviet Union. But he has since poured colossal sums of money in the region for rebuild and gave Kadyrov a great measure of autonomy.
The Kremlin describes its actions in Ukraine as “special operation “to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and Western allies call it’s a baseless excuse for a war of choice.
