Republican leader Chechnya pro-Moscow, Ramzan Kadyrovclaiming Russian troops will strike again and seize the capital Kyiv after taking control of eastern Ukraine like the Donbas.
“There will be attacks, not only in Mariupol (a port city in southeastern Ukraine), but also elsewhere, towns and villages,” Kadyrov said in a video posted on his Telegram channel Monday.
“First of all, Luhansk and Donetsk, we will completely liberate the region. Then take Kyiv and other cities,” he added.
Kadyrov, who often considers himself an “accomplice” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said there was no doubt about the plot to seize Kyiv.
“I assure you: not a single step will go back,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Kadyrov is a former opponent who is now a loyalist of Putin. Russia once invaded the Chechen Republic and fought two wars with Chechen separatists after the Soviet Union split in 1991.
The Republic of Chechnya is a Muslim-majority region in southern Russia. After annexing Chechnya, Russia poured large sums of money into the region to rebuild it and give Kadyrov extensive autonomy.
Meanwhile, Chechen troops did help Russia launch its invasion of Ukraine. Kadyrov claimed tens of thousands of his troops were also deployed to assist Russian troops in Ukraine.
Russia later said it would focus on attacking and “liberating” eastern Ukraine regions such as the Donbas.
Kyiv claims Russian troops are now preparing for a “great war” in the east of the country following Moscow’s increasingly violent attacks in the region.
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