Putin’s Surprise Visit to Chechnya After 13 Years

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Chechnya for the first time in 13 years and met with soldiers undergoing training to fight in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Chechen Republic, which is part of Russia, for the first time since 2011. Putin was welcomed by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and other officials in the capital, Grozny.

Visiting the grave of Chechnya’s first leader, Akhmat Kadyrov, in the Kurchaloyevsky region, Putin later toured the Russian Special Forces University in Gudermes alongside Kadyrov. At the university, Putin met with Chechen troops and volunteers training to fight in Ukraine and received information from officials. “As long as we have soldiers like you, we will always be invincible. Shooting at the range here is one thing, risking your life and health is another. But you have a spiritual need to defend your homeland and the courage to make such a decision,” he said.

“We have sent 47,000 soldiers to fight in Ukraine”

Kadyrov and Putin held a working meeting during the visit. In his speech during the meeting, Kadyrov stated that Chechnya has sent a total of 47,000 soldiers to fight in Ukraine, including 19,000 volunteers so far. Kadyrov noted that the soldiers sent have received training at the Russian Special Forces University and also mentioned that tens of thousands of trained soldiers are ready to go to the military region.