Kadyrov and the 'Party of War'

The head of the Chechen republic is one of the most active protagonists of Moscow's military aggression against Ukraine.  He unites the galaxy of Islamic jihad with the Orthodox "holy war". The smoke screen he provides suits Moscow as it covers up war crimes and perpetuates confusion surrounding retreats and strategies.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The head of the Russian republic of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov is one of the most active protagonists of Russian military aggression in Ukraine. In addition to the war actions of his fierce Chechen soldiers, known as "Kadyrovtsy", he is also one of the main protagonists in the information war. Several times he has appealed to President Putin not to stop the military operations, promising that soon he will accompany him on the limousine of triumph in Kiev.

Now the Chechen leader has intervened with a strong criticism of the head of the diplomatic mission for peace talks, Vladimir Medinsky, assuring that he and his soldiers will not stop fighting until the final victory. Medinskij had made it known, after the negotiations in Istanbul last March 29, that Ukraine was ready to grant the main conditions requested by Russia, on the neutrality of the country and military missions of control with the armies of guarantors, including Russia.

For these reasons, the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense, Aleksandr Fomin, had announced the suspension of actions in the areas of Kiev and Černihiv, in order to increase mutual trust. In addition to the reactions of some of the most ardent Russian propagandists of the war, such as TV host Vladimir Solov'ev, Kadyrov's response was not long in coming, insisting in repeating that "we will not make any discount, Mr. Medinsky is wrong and says nonsense. But do not worry, we have only one commander in chief, the president who looks 100 years ahead of us, and he will not leave halfway what he started as they think to make you believe.

It is certainly not the first time that Kadyrov expresses himself freely and in dissent from Moscow's official communiqués, but it is to be understood if it is only his unchecked externals, or if there is a real party of warmongering "hawks" behind it. Kadyrovtsy are often used as bogeymen inside and outside, far beyond their real effectiveness, as one of the leaders of the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Research, Valeryj Kravčenko, confirms to Kavkaz.Realii: even in Bucha and other places the inhumanity of the Chechens was mentioned, to cover the misdeeds of other regular troops.

Kadyrov also serves to unite the tones of Islamic jihad with the Orthodox "holy war," considering that many soldiers deployed in Ukraine come from Caucasian and Asian territories, and many are of Muslim faith. Even the criticism to Medinskij, and to the foreign minister Sergej Lavrov himself, according to Kravčenko are just a game of sides: "Kadyrov is never spontaneous, he always intervenes on the instructions of his political communication technicians... his aggressiveness serves mainly to reassure the public opinion inside Russia, making it clear that the leadership is not willing to suffer the dishonor of defeat".

The humanitarian activist from St. Petersburg Daria Hejkinen, who has collected signatures for the deposition of Kadyrov, suffering for this reason the arrest, is convinced that the statements of the Chechen leader are all the result of his sack, "but in Moscow they do not care about them, even if they contradict the official versions; it is convenient for them the confusion that he creates, so they know that when they want they silence him".

Other experts also believe that Kadyrov is actually talking out of his ass, since Russia is not able to carry out the assault on the Ukrainian capital and the central-western areas. Kremlin spokesman Dimitrij Peskov dismissed the issue saying that "these are not matters of Kadyrov's competence".

Kadyrov doesn't mind covering himself in blood, more in virtual reality than on the ground. The smoke he raises is useful to Moscow, both in covering war crimes and in confusing ideas about retreats and strategies, until what will be anyway passed off as the "announced triumph" that will soon, hopefully, put an end to the war and the massacres.