Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Tuesday called for the destruction of Ukrainian cities.
“We’ve already declared martial law… but they’re not shy, they shoot,” Kadyrov said in an audio message posted on his Telegram messaging app channel. “I’m very dissatisfied. Our response is weak.”
“If a shell comes in our direction, our region, we need to wipe out [Ukrainian] cities off the face of the Earth … so they can’t even think of shooting in our direction,” he added.
Kadyrov said “we must not look at what will happen tomorrow if we make any decisions,” possibly hinting at his earlier calls for the use of nuclear weapons.
His cryptic comments come amid a growing number of high-ranking Russian officials accusing Kyiv of planning to use a so-called “dirty bomb” to implicate the Kremlin in war crimes. Ukraine’s Western allies dismiss Moscow’s claims as a pretext for Russia to escalate the eight-month-long conflict.
“Everything possible has already been done. There won’t be anything worse,” Kadyrov said in the 13-minute audio.
Meanwhile, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday, in his surprise visit to Ukraine.
“I am looking forward to my meeting with [Ukrainian] President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv,” he said, according to a text sent by the spokesperson.