Ramzan Kadyrov is one of
Putin’s strongest supporters and frequently refers to himself as the
president’s ‘foot soldier’.
The leader has frequently
shared his criticisms of the West in bold statements on social media,
particularly on Instagram.
Now he has turned his
attention to Poland, which has been one of Ukraine’s strongest allies
since Russia invaded the nation on February 24.
It has pushed for a European
Union-wide ban on Russian oil and imports and has welcomed thousands of refugees
who have fled the war.
‘Ukraine is a done deal. What
I’m interested in is Poland,’ Kadyrov said in a video message on Monday.
‘What is Poland trying to
achieve? Once Ukraine is done, we can show you what we’re capable of in six
seconds if there is an order.’
Kadyrov also demanded an
apology for an incident in Warsaw earlier this month that saw red paint
thrown over the Russan ambassador Sergey Andreev as he attempted to lay
flowers at the Soviet military cemetery.
‘You better take away your
weapons and your mercenaries and officially apologize to our ambassador,’ he
added.
Kadyrov’s troops have been
accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine.
The leader himself has been
repeatedly accused of human rights abuses by the United States and EU, which he
denies.
Chechen forces were known to
be at the siege of Mariupol and were said to be among occupying forces who
killed civilians in the suburbs of Kyiv.
Kadyrov has been known to
follow his troops on excursions, although he has denied taking part in any
extrajudicial killings.
He also reportedly deployed
an elite hit squad to assassinate the Ukrainian president Volodymyr
Zelensky at the outbreak of the invasion.
However, the group was
‘eliminated’ by Ukrainian forces, officials said.
Kadyrov’s antagonistic
comments come as Mr. Zelensky has urged the West up its support of his nation
and to impose tougher sanctions on Russia.
Mr. Zelensky’s criticism of the
West has mounted in recent days as the EU drags its heels on a possible Russian
oil embargo and Putin’s troops up their offensive on the cities of Sievierodonetsk
and Lysychansk.
Russia is currently trying to
consolidate control of the industrial eastern Donbas region, where it has
backed a separatist revolt since 2014.
