The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, turned out to be “extremely dissatisfied” with the decision of the Ministry of Defense to exchange Viktor Medvedchuk, the godfather of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for Ukrainian prisoners of war, including Denis Prokopenko, commander of the Azov regiment. He wrote about it on Telegram.
In the message, the head of Chechnya expressed resentment that he was not consulted.
“I am extremely dissatisfied with yesterday's exchange... Whenever combat or tactical decisions were made, we, active participants in the special operation, were consulted. But here… I understand that the Ministry of Defense and the FSB are much more visible at the top, but I believe that criminals recognized as terrorists cannot be exchanged for servicemen.”
He called the exchange on Ukrainian terms wrong and unacceptable. According to him, due to the decision of the Ministry of Defense, the fighters who "liberated Mariupol" and are now on the front line, draw a conclusion and do not take prisoners. In conclusion, Kadyrov added that this is his personal opinion, which does not affect "the main unshakable principle of carrying out any orders of Vladimir Putin."
In August, Kadyrov received another award: the title of "Hero of the LNR". At the end of July, he announced that Putin had awarded him the Order of Alexander Nevsky "for his great contribution to the socio-economic development of the Chechen Republic and the effective solution of tasks of great national importance." Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Kadyrov has actively supported Vladimir Putin's statements, commenting on them on his Telegram channel with 2.56 million subscribers. So, on September 15, the head of Chechnya called for "self-mobilization" in each individual region. According to him, Russia is a federal state in which the regions "can be the initiators of any undertakings." Less than a week later, on September 21, Putin announced mobilization in Russia, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu promised to call on 300,000 "reservists."