Chechen Leader Ramzan Kadyrov: Russian Negotiator 'Made a Mistake' Offering Ukraine Concessions

John HaywardMarch 31, 2022

Ramzan Kadyrov, the eccentric dictator of the Russian puppet government in Chechnya, posted a rant on social media Wednesday in which he castigated Russian negotiators for making too many concessions to Ukraine in peace negotiations. Kadyrov vowed that his troops would fight the Ukrainians to the bitter end, whatever that might be.

Kadyrov’s tirade on Telegram was apparently filmed in his office, where nearly everything is plated in gold – right down to his desk accessories:

Sitting in his gold-plated office, Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov publicly criticizes Russian head negotiator Vladimir Medinsky for supposedly being too accommodating to Ukraine. The cracks are starting to show. pic.twitter.com/p5siAvii9L

— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 30, 2022

Kadyrov has previously been mocked for his habit of mixing fantastically expensive designer clothes into the pseudo-military uniforms he affects. His horrifying record of human rights abuses is no laughing matter. Even as Kadyrov committed thousands of his fighters to the Russian war effort, Chechens exiled by his regime reportedly flocked to Ukraine to fight on Kyiv’s behalf because they wanted a chance to kill Kadyrov loyalists.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday awarded Kadyrov the rank of Lieutenant-General in the Russian military for his contributions to the invasion of Ukraine – even though, as the UK Guardian pointed out, there is little evidence of Chechen forces making any significant contributions to front-line combat.

“The presence of Kadyrov’s men, who have a reputation for extreme brutality, is most likely aimed as much at spreading fear as bolstering numbers in battle,” the Guardian proposed. “They may also take on other tasks, with some reportedly assigned to patrol behind frontline forces and shoot deserters. Others have been assigned to interrogations of civilians in the city – a grim specialty of Kadyrov’s followers, who have a track record of torture and abuse.”

Perhaps eager to dispel these accounts or to demonstrate his gratitude to Putin for the promotion, Kadyrov filmed his Telegram message railing against Russian negotiators for offering concessions to the Ukrainians. He vowed he and his Chechen fighters would offer none.

Kadyrov said, according to a partial translation by Reuters, chief Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky “made a mistake” and used “incorrect wording” when he announced on Tuesday that Russian forces would reduce military activity around Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities as a gesture towards de-escalation.

“If you think [Putin] will quit what he started just the way it is presented to us today, this is not true,” Kadyrov insisted.

“If Kyiv does not come to us, then we must come to visit. As they say, if the mountain does not go to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain,” Kadyrov declared, pushing back against reports that Russia is scaling back its war aims and may settle for taking only the restless eastern provinces of Ukraine.

Outside observers noted it was unusual for Kadyrov, who has proudly described himself as Putin’s “footsoldier,” to directly contradict the Putin regime and its negotiators. The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), however, pointed to similar outbursts from Kadyrov in 2018 when he disagreed with Moscow’s policy toward Myanmar. Kadyrov, a self-styled warrior of Islam, thought the Russian government was not doing enough to protect the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar from genocide.

FPRI suggested Kadyrov is pushing for all-out war in Ukraine because the Chechen economy is flagging, and he expects rewards for his loyal service from Putin – and perhaps because he feels great personal animosity toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who offended Kadyrov in 2014 with a comedy sketch featuring a video that showed him weeping during prayer (Zelensky later reportedly apologized to the Muslim community for the segment).

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Kadyrov embarrassed himself on Monday by posting a photo of himself kneeling on a Muslim prayer mat, machine gun at the ready, at a gas station in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Unfortunately for him, observers noted the brand of gas advertised on signs behind him is not sold in Ukraine, strongly suggesting he took the picture somewhere in Russia.

In another bit of bad news for Kadyrov, the mixed martial arts (MMA) organization he owns and finances, Absolute Championship Akhmat, announced on Thursday it has canceled all international events for the rest of this year. The organization said the current “political situation” made it impossible to hold events in other countries.