1 hour ago
photo released, Getty Images
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Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov
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Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said he would soon send his three sons, aged 16, 15 and 14, to the Ukrainian front to fight with Russian forces.
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Kadyrov is considered a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite his recent criticism of the leadership of the Russian military.
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Kadyrov said on his social media account that a man should teach his children how to protect their families, their people and their country.
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It is known that Russia is one of the signatories of the treaty banning the recruitment of children under the age of eighteen.
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Recruiting children under this age to participate in military operations is a war crime under the laws of the International Criminal Court, although Russia does not recognize its authority.
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In a long post on Telegram, Kadyrov said his sons started military training when they were young, and it was time they could get hands-on experience.
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Kadyrov took the opportunity to denounce what he called “the owners of empty slogans”, who claimed that the children of leaders and influential people in Chechnya are not participating in the war.
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Kadyrov attached the publication to a video clip showing his sons shooting during military training.
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Kadyrov became president of Chechnya, the republic in the Caucasus region, after Putin appointed him to office in 2007.
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Since then the country has seen a kind of inactivity, after a long period of revolutions, and wars for independence against Russia.
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Kadyrov, among his opponents, is accused of using an iron fist and establishing a repressive regime to govern the country.
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