Fresh off the heels of prodding the Kremlin to deploy nuclear weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s so-called attack dog is now planning to dispatch weapons of his own to Ukraine: his teenage sons.
Chechen Republic leader and strongman Ramzan Kadyrov vowed to send his three sons, aged 14, 15, and 16, to war-torn Ukraine in a bold post to Telegram in which he proclaimed that “minor age should not interfere with the training of the defenders of our Motherland,” Sky News reported.
“Their military training began a long time ago, almost from an early age. It’s not enough just to know how to shoot,” he added, per the report. “I always believed that the main goal of any father is to instill piety in his sons and teach them to protect the family, the people, the Fatherland. If you want peace, prepare for war.”
Deploying children under 15 is deemed a war crime by the International Criminal Court, but Russia does not recognize its authority, the BBC reported.
Kadyrov is no stranger to fiery rhetoric. Recently, he advocated the Kremlin detonate low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine to compensate for its battlefield woes. His remarks were even more pointed than Putin’s bombshell vow last month to defend the “territorial integrity of our Motherland” by “all the means at our disposal,” which was widely interpreted as a nuclear threat.
Kremlin officials, such as spokesman Dmitry Peskov, seemingly sought to distance themselves from Kadyrov’s nuclear remarks. Peskov argued that “emotions should be kept out of any kind of assessment” and that Russia has clear standards in its nuclear doctrine about when to unleash such destructive power.
Recently, Kadyrov also blasted the Russian military for setbacks in the city of Lyman, attributing the stunning blow to incompetence and nepotism, per Sky News.
Russian forces withdrew from the eastern city of Lyman, Donetsk region, amid fears of being encircled by Ukrainian forces. The stunning defeat marked a significant setback for Moscow and came fresh off Putin’s signing of an agreement to annex the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
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Kadyrov is known for being blunt with his opinions on the war. Earlier this year, he famously feuded with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and mused about coming to blows with him. He also dangled the prospects of Russia attacking Poland.
Kadyrov has ruled over Chechen since 2007. A stalwart ally of Putin, he has been condemned by human rights groups for his iron grip rule over his people. Chechen forces have been heavily involved in the war against Ukraine since the bloody invasion began in February.
