Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday made a surprise visit to Chechnya, where he met with the republic’s leader and longtime Kremlin ally, Ramzan Kadyrov.
The unscheduled trip to Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, marked the first time since 2011 that Putin has visited the mostly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation. The visit also came as Russia’s armed forces attempt to hold back Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into the Russian region of Kursk.
Earlier in the month, Ukraine launched its offensive operation in Kursk Oblast as war continues to rage between the two nations since Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Thousands of Russians have been evacuated from both Kursk and the surrounding regions, while armed clashes intensify across southwestern Russia following Ukraine’s unexpected cross-border raid.
The Associated Press (AP) reported Putin visited a special forces academy in Chechnya that was named in his honor, where he spoke with fighters who will be sent to fight in Ukraine.
Putin reportedly told the soldiers that Russia will be “invincible” as long as it has troops like them.
Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
Kadyrov, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of State in 2020 for his involvement in “numerous gross violations of human rights” within Chechnya, has previously stated that he has deployed thousands of his troops to fight in Ukraine.
The AP, citing Russian state media reports, said Kadyrov told Putin during their Tuesday meeting that his republic has “tens of thousands” of reserve soldiers ready to fight Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s forces.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.