In a sign that the Kremlin could face serious consequences for losing territory that the Russian occupation administrations had repeatedly said they planned to hold “forever”, Kadyrov also suggested that Vladimir Putin might not know the real state of affairs. “They have made mistakes and I think they will draw the necessary conclusions,” Kadyrov said in an audio message posted on his Telegram channel on Sunday. “If there are no changes in strategy today or tomorrow, I will be forced to talk to the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the leadership of the country to explain to them the real situation on the ground. It’s a very interesting situation. It’s amazing, I would say,” said Kadyrov, a former rebel-turned-Kremlin ally who rules Chechnya – a Russian republic in the Caucasus – with an iron fist and has a paramilitary force at his command. Since the invasion in February, the Kremlin has focused on silencing liberal voices critical of the war, but as things go badly on the battlefield, Putin faces the headache of what to do with former cheerleaders who want Russia to commit more forces at war. to turn the wheel. Many units from Chechnya have taken part in Russia’s war effort, and while Kadyrov is ostensibly super-loyal to Moscow, he is one of the few Russian political figures whose messaging is not fully controlled by the Kremlin. All eyes will be on how Putin responds to the retreat. He had previously played down claims that he made a terrible miscalculation in February when he believed the Russian military could overrun Ukraine within days. In a recent appearance he said Russia had “lost nothing” during the war, but the heavy losses of recent days could be a harder sell to the Russian population. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. On Saturday, as the devastating news broke from the front, Putin was busy opening a giant observation wheel in a Moscow park as part of Moscow Day celebrations. Military bloggers slammed him for going ahead with the celebrations.
