Chechen Leader Sends Teenage Sons To Join War In Ukraine

Chechen leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin's ally Ramzan Kadyrov on Thursday said that he has sent his three teenage sons to the frontlines alongside Russian soldiers in the war in Ukraine.

In a video that Kadyrov posted on his Telegram, the Chechen leader's sons Akhmat, 16, Eli, 15, and Adam,14, were seen brandishing assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade while posing for TV cameras. One part of the video also showed Kadyrov's sons shooting from camouflaged positions among the trees.

"Akhmat, Eli and Adam visited the contact line, where fierce battles with Ukrainian nationalists are currently taking place," Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel. "[They] made their way close to the enemy positions and provided fire cover to advancing fighters."

Kadyrov also said that other Chechen fights were "pleasantly surprised" by the performance of his sons, adding that they "stayed in their positions until they fended off the latest Nazi counterattack."

The video posted by Kadyrov as "proof" that he kept his promise to send his children to the battlefield was not eagerly received by some, with Chechen blogger Khasan Khalitov calling it a "cheap staging."

"Did you think we would believe that your three bastards are on the front line with this cheap staging? Show us a real battle and not cheap performances," Khalitov wrote.

Kadyrov first promised to send his sons to the war in Ukraine in early October in a Telegram post. He noted that his sons all underwent military training "from very early age." In the same post, Kadyrov argued that "young age" should not stop a person from training to become "defenders of our homeland."

The video of Kadyrov's sons on the frontlines comes after his daughter Aishat, who serves as Chechya's culture minister, was seen receiving the Order of Friendship from Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), "for cooperation as a symbol of gratitude for supporting Donbas." A video of the event was posted on the Chechen state-run "Grozny" TV channel.

The head of Chechnya has been one of Putin's most vocal supporters since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.