Ramzan Kadyrov, the feared Chechen leader and staunch Putin ally, is reportedly in Ukraine commanding a unit alongside Russian forces. Julius Strauss explains what his arrival into the war means for Russia, Ukraine and Chechnya
It’s not just Vladimir Putin who has staked his reputation on the war in Ukraine. The Chechen warlord and leader Ramzan Kadyrov has also led his own forces into Ukraine in lockstep with his firm ally Putin.
It’s an unlikely alliance that dates to the late 1990s. Following the implosion of the Soviet Union and the bitter and brutal Chechen wars, Kadyrov’s father Akhmad gave up fighting for the separatists and instead formed an alliance with Putin as he rose to power.