Earlier this week, Chechen troops in Ukraine suffered heavy casualties. However, there was no angry Russian reaction - to the displeasure of the Chechen ruler Kadyrov. He now seems to want to take care of the matter himself.
The ruler of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has threatened Ukraine with a new military special operation called "retaliation". The separate operation is taking place in what is currently the most important area of action in the conflict, reports the Russian business daily Kommersant, citing Kadyrov's Telegram channel. According to the information, the ruler who is loyal to the Kremlin does not say by whom it is to be carried out. "Military special operation" is still the official name of the Russian attack on Ukraine eight months after the start of the war in Russia.
The threat of the Chechen ruler is presumably a reaction to heavy losses in their own ranks. Kadyrov confirmed to Telegram on Friday that Ukraine killed 23 of his fighters and wounded 58 in an artillery attack in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson. Ukrainian sources said earlier this week that the unit revealed its location through photos posted on social media and thus became the target of the shelling. "Our armed forces just had to keep at it," said Serhiy Chlan, the Ukrainian military governor of the Kherson region.
Kadyrov then complained about Russia's alleged "weak actions" against the Ukrainian troops. For the shelling of Russian territory - which the Chechen ruler also includes Cherson after the illegal annexation - Ukrainian cities would have to be razed to the ground, he demanded on Telegram. In his contribution, Kadyrov also described the fighting as a "war" for the first time. Earlier this month he endorsed the use of nuclear weapons.
Kadyrov has been using his high-reach Telegram channel for Russian propaganda and to stage himself and his troops in the war since the first weeks of the war. Chechen fighters are therefore sometimes derided as the "Tiktok army".
As Kadyrov further reports in his most recent Telegram message, there are said to be high losses on the Ukrainian side as part of Operation "Retribution". More than 650 Ukrainian troops were killed and more than 300 injured in the direction of Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih between October 25 and 27. Ukraine does not comment on reports of its own losses in the war against Russia. Independently, the information can neither be confirmed nor refuted. However, international observers assume that Russia lacks the troops for a new offensive.
