One of Vladimir Putin's cronies has made a chilling threat to the West and brazenly called upon people across Europe to rise up against their governments.
Ramzan Kadyrov is the infamous leader of the Chechnya region and ranted against the West's opposition to Russia's 'special operation' - a cover term for the war - in Ukraine.
Only Russia and its allies claim that the country's actions in the sovereign state of Ukraine are justified, as callous acts of indiscriminate bombardment have seen thousands of people killed and large parts of cities completely destroyed, forcing millions to flee their homes.
The Putin-fanatic, who reports say his troops are allegedly linked to war crimes in Ukraine, said: "This winter Russia might not be able to warm everyone with gas in a timely way.
"Or to be precise it will be possible. But we won’t want to do it."
Kadyrov suggested that Russia might not want to supply gas to Europe, who have previously relied heavily upon it, in a seeming threat against them.
He added: "The Europeans were told it was Russia's fault in raising petrol and food prices - though even a fool would grasp that the reserve funds of these countries was spent on arming Ukraine.
"Europe will breathe freely when all first people in their states [leaders] are replaced before the start of the cold [season]...
"Europe by what it says and by providing military support is aiming at a certain target - to push Russia move from the special [military] operation regime to a full-scale war with all types of weapons used along the entire front line."
In increasingly alarming bluster from the head of the Chechen Republic, Kadyrov protested the West arming Ukraine with weapons to fight the war in Ukraine and said it should protect its "gene pools".
He spoke as British towed L119 howitzers of 105mm calibre were seen in Ukraine, reported Strana.
A new video showed the versatile weapon, which has a range of 10 miles and can be delivered by helicopter or dropped using parachutes.
He said: "NATO naively believes that such a war will weaken Russia. Russia throughout its entire history has been ready for any war. We are fine fighting NATO, but it’ll be your fathers, husbands, brothers and sons [who face death]."
Kadyrov is known for his bolshy rhetoric and wild claims of Chechen strength. His troops have been called on by Russia to assist in the war.
He has previously claimed that he and his army are ready to take on the West toe-to-toe and "easily take Kyiv and the NATO countries".
Kadyrov said: "We are ready to smash the false-democratic, pseudo-liberal and military-barbaric campaign of Western states, which are corrupting the world community in an attempt to subdue the entire globe under them, to smithereens."
In his home state, Kadyrov is accused of disappearances and torture as a result of crackdowns in Chechnya.
Reports also claimed that gay Chechens were being rounded up and tortured, but Kadyrov insisted: "There are no homosexuals in Chechnya... you cannot detain and persecute those who do not exist."
