Ukraine’s president suggests the US should remove Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to pressure Russia, drawing a sharp rebuke from the Chechen strongman.
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested the United States should target Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov for removal, following its operation against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Zelensky told journalists on Wednesday that such an action would make Russian President Vladimir Putin “think twice” about his offensive in Ukraine.
He cited the US special forces operation that snatched Maduro from Caracas last Saturday as proof Washington could influence Moscow if it wished.
“They carried out an operation… Everyone can see the result,” Zelensky said.
“Let them carry out some sort of operation with, what’s his name — Kadyrov.”
Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region since 2007, is a staunch Putin ally who has sent thousands of soldiers to fight in Ukraine.
He responded to Zelensky on Telegram, telling the Ukrainian leader to “save face and don’t humiliate yourself.”
Kadyrov said Zelensky was “cowardly” for wanting to watch “someone else punished his offender” from a safe distance.
Over the weekend, Zelensky had jokingly suggested Putin should be a target after the Maduro operation.
“If you can do that with dictators, then the United States knows what to do next,” he said at a press conference.
Ukraine has long argued its Western partners have not applied sufficient pressure on the Kremlin to end the nearly four-year war.
Kadyrov has consistently advocated for Moscow to use extreme measures in Ukraine, including publicly floating the idea of a nuclear strike.
