Putin’s puppet president in Chechnya: Ramzan Kadyrov (archive image) Photo: picture alliance/dpa
From BZ/afp and BZ/dpa
In view of the armed uprising by the Wagner mercenary group, the head of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has announced that he will send his own troops to support the Kremlin
“Fighters from the Ministry of Defense and the National Guard of the Chechen Republic have already left for the tense areas. We will do everything to preserve the unity of Russia and protect its statehood,” Kadyrov said on Telegram on Saturday.
President Vladimir Putin had previously spoken of a military uprising in a speech on state television and announced that the organizers would be punished.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the insurgents “traitors” in his speech on June 24, 2023 Photo: Handout / RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE / AFP
“I support every word of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin,” Kadyrov said. Personal disputes should not be fought in times of war. “The uprising must be crushed and if tough action is needed, we stand ready!”
The head of the republic in the North Caucasus is notorious for a brutal leadership style. Like the Wagner mercenaries, Chechen fighters are deployed alongside the regular Russian army in the war of aggression against Ukraine.