Ramzan Kadyrov appears in video after death rumors swirl

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov appeared in an online video, days after unconfirmed reports said the key Kremlin ally was critically ill.

In a video posted on Kadyrov’s Telegram account, the leader of Russia’s southern republic filmed himself walking in the rain at an unspecified location, while another video showed a turfed asphalt road and a Rows of trees, seemingly taken from Kadyrov’s shooting point. view.

“I strongly advise anyone who cannot distinguish between truth and lies on the Internet to take a walk in the fresh air and collect their thoughts,” Kadyrov wrote in the captions of two videos uploaded to social media on Sunday.

Weekly newspaper It was not possible to independently verify when or where the video showing Kadyrov was recorded. The Russian Foreign Ministry was contacted for comment via email.

The video comes after a Ukrainian intelligence spokesman told Eastern European outlet Nexta that Kadyrov, who took over as leader of Chechnya in 2007, “has been ill for a long time and we are talking about systemic health problems.”

Andrei Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s General Intelligence Service, told Ukrainian media Ukrinform on Friday that Kadyrov’s “condition over the past few days has been very serious.”

There are conflicting reports about Kadyrov’s health. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, said in a post to .” Sunday, formerly known as Twitter.

Unconfirmed reports also suggest that Kadyrov accused his doctor, Erhan Suleymanov, of trying to poison him. Weekly newspaper The reports could not be independently verified.

The Russian-language Telegram channel, which has more than 224,000 subscribers, reported on Sunday that Kadyrov had died over the weekend, but there was no evidence to support the claim. A Ukrainian media outlet also reported earlier on Sunday that the Chechen leader died on Saturday night Moscow time, but provided no confirmation.

Kadyrov is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s staunchest allies, and experts believe the Chechen leader relies heavily on the Kremlin to maintain his grip on power. Experts have previously said that Putin and Kadyrov have a “father-son relationship” but that this relationship depends on “mutual dependence” Weekly newspaper.

He has publicly expressed full support for Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and has enlisted Chechen fighters loyal to his regime to join Russia’s war effort.