Ramzan Kadyrov, the 46-year-old strongman President of Chechnya and a long-time staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is allegedly in an elite hospital outside of Moscow as rumours abound that the Chechen leader is in a coma, while others claim he may have died of an unspecified illness.
President Kadyrov is allegedly being treated at the Central Clinical Hospital outside Moscow and speculation about the state of his condition comes after reports of a host of luxury vehicles with Chechen license plates being sighted at the hospital, broadcaster Yle reports.
Ukrainian media outlets, though not always the most reliable sources of information regarding Russia, have reported that Kadyrov has been treated for issues with his kidneys, while others have claimed that he is currently in a coma.
Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, claimed that Kadyrov was in critical condition, with spokesman Andriy Yusov stating, “Yes, indeed, there is information that war criminal Kadyrov is in serious condition—his existing diseases have worsened and caused such a serious condition.”
“He has been ill for a long time, and it is about systemic health problems. But he has been in serious condition for the last few days,” Yusov added.
Ukrainian media have previously claimed that Kadyrov accused his personal doctor Elkhan Suleymanov of trying to poison him and that the doctor had been “buried alive” after the allegations although nothing concrete was presented to back up the claims.
However, Newsweek magazine notes that Suleymanov’s Instagram account has been completely dormant since he was fired as Deputy Prime Minister in October of last year and has not been seen publicly since.
Abubakar Yangulbayev, a Chechen opposition leader, has made claims on the encrypted messaging app Telegram that Kadyrov is already dead but, so far, no reports have corroborated his Telegram posts and Yangulbayev did not provide any additional evidence to suggest Kadyrov had died.
Likely in an effort to dispel rumours of his ill health, President Kadyrov’s Telegram channel posted videos of the Chechen leader on a walk in the rain, although some have claimed that the video has no indication of when it may have been filmed.
Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, commented on the videos on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“A video of Kadyrov walking in the rain has appeared on his Telegram channel. In the video, he says: ‘Do sports’. He says something else, but I can’t make heads or tails of what he says. Maybe someone in the comments will understand him?”
He added that the caption on the video on Telegram stated, “I highly advise everyone who on the Internet can not distinguish truth from lies, take a walk in the fresh air, put your thoughts in order. Rain is wonderfully invigorating.”
Russian authorities have been tight-lipped on the condition of Kadyrov, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov simply stating, “We have no information on this,” while Kadyrov’s spokespeople have allegedly refused to answer requests for comment.
Kadyrov is well-known as a major supporter of President Putin and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, having sent Chechen troops to Ukraine to aid Russian forces fighting there and allegedly travelled to the country himself in March of last year.
During the mutiny by PMC Wagner mercenary forces in June this year, Kadyrov also reportedly offered Chechen forces to President Putin to help put down the rebellion, encouraging Chechens to take up arms against Wagner forces.
“We will do everything to preserve the unity of Russia and protect its statehood! The rebellion must be crushed, and if this requires harsh measures, then we are ready!” Kadyrov said at the time.
Ramzan Kadyrov has ruled Chechnya since 2007, following the assassination of his father Akhmad, the previous Chechen president, in 2004.
