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Topics: Ukraine, Russia, World News, Vladimir Putin
Daisy Phillipson
Russian ally and infamous warlord Ramzan Kadyrov has revealed Vladimir Putin’s chilling plan for Kyiv.
Although Russia’s attack has led to devastation in Ukraine since it invaded the country on 24 February, the Kremlin has failed to capture most of the country's major cities, including the capital of Kyiv.
But Kadyrov, who serves as Head of the Chechen Republic, has warned that Putin will take Kyiv as part of a new offensive.
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In a video posted on his Telegram channel today (11 April), he presented military maps while saying: “The tasks are clear… there will be an offensive not only in Mariupol but in other settlements, cities and villages, to free Luhansk and Donetsk first of all.
“This goal was set by the supreme commander, our dear president Vladimir Putin. After, we will take Kyiv and all the other cities.”
Ukrainian forces have managed to reclaim territory around Kyiv, but Kadyrov claimed: “There are questions from people, that since we moved away from Kyiv, we do not plan to take it and Russia yields to Ukraine… I assure you, there will not be any step back.
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“There was confusion, such moments happen with war strategy. A goodwill gesture was misunderstood by our… foes.”
The Chechen head then asked himself what he would do, suggesting Putin should threaten to use nuclear weapons if the West deploys mercenaries in Ukraine.
“I would immediately clear Luhansk and Donetsk, and begin to work further,” he added. “I would declare: If any mercenary comes to Ukraine we would go up to a strike with nuclear tactical [weapons] at certain points… so they do not mock us. NATO, the West, are at war with us. This isn't a joke.”
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The Chechen leader, described as Putin’s ‘foot solider’, has previously been accused of human rights abuses including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings and the persecution of the LGBTQ+ community.
Kadyrov was granted power to rule the region in exchange for loyalty to the Russian president, and has proven to be invaluable to the Kremlin after Moscow fought two wars with separatists in Chechnya following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russia has since funneled significant funding into Chechnya in order to rebuild it, and has allowed Kadyrov to maintain autonomy in the southern Russian region.
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