Chechen leader Kadyrov profiled Russia's war of aggression more than eight months ago as one of the most vocal supporters of the bloody confrontation. Now, for the first time, he is admitting losses in his unit - presumably to put the number of deaths cited by the Ukrainian side into perspective.
The ruler of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has admitted high losses in his own ranks after an artillery shelling by Ukrainian troops. "23 fighters died and 58 were injured," Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel. Ukrainian sources reported earlier this week that a Chechen unit in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson revealed its location via photos on social media and was hit by artillery fire.
Usually, Russian officials don't publish figures on their own casualties. In this case, Kadyrov was probably trying to put the even higher numbers quoted by the Ukrainian side into perspective. At the same time, he used the admission to appeal to his compatriots to be mobilized for the war in Ukraine. "This is a great jihad that everyone should take part in," the Chechen leader said.
Since the start of the Russian war of aggression more than eight months ago, Kadyrov has distinguished himself as one of the strongest supporters of the bloody conflict and has also sent his own units to Ukraine. He recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the course of the war. "We used to say that we were conducting special military operations on the territory of Ukraine, but the war is already taking place on our territory," Kadyrov said. He is very dissatisfied with it.
At the same time he threatened Ukraine's western support countries with annihilation. Martial law has already been imposed in regions bordering Ukraine, Kadyrov said. "But they continue to shoot at peaceful citizens and civilian objects." Russia's response to this was "weak". In retaliation, Kadyrov demanded that Ukrainian cities be wiped out "so that we can see the distant horizon."
