Experts on Caucasus explain change in Kadyrov's opinion about operation in Ukraine

Ramzan Kadyrov's laudatory words about Russian militaries' actions in Ukraine, which followed his criticism of the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), are caused by his misunderstanding of the role of the head of Chechnya in the special operation, Alexei Malashenko believes. Kadyrov's new statement was caused by the Kremlin's reaction to his critical words, Ruslan Kutaev has pointed out.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 11, Kadyrov accused the Russian MoD of making mistakes in the Kharkov Region and called for a change in the strategy of the military operation.

On September 14, Kadyrov published an opinion on his Telegram channel that contradicted his criticism of the MoD. "In the course of the special military operation, we are not retreating anywhere. These are all stuffing and Western provocations," he has stressed.

Kadyrov's new statement, in which he actually disavowed his criticism of the MoD's actions, is largely a consequence of the fact that Kadyrov doesn't know what to do; and Russian authorities don't know what role Kadyrov should play, says Alexei Malashenko, an expert on the Caucasus. He pointed out that in recent weeks there have been "very few peppy statements" about Kadyrov and his subordinates in the special operation in Ukraine.

New Kadyrov's statement is due to the fact that he was brought down by the Kremlin, Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, is convinced. The head of Chechnya has certain powers to interfere in the operations of the "Rosgvardiya" (Russian National Guard), but not of the military, the analyst has emphasized.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 16, 2022 at 07:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.