Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, one of Vladimir Putin's closest allies, is reported to be seriously ill with kidney problems amid fears he was poisoned.
The fanatical pro-war brute, who has advocated using nuclear weapons against Ukraine, is rumoured to have summoned a leading doctor from the United Arab Emirates because he “does not trust” Russian doctors.
Several opposition sources have claimed kidney illness accounted for Kadyrov’s surprising absence from Putin’s state of the nation speech on February 12.
His recent “bloated” appearance at a recent meeting in his palace in the Chechen capital Grozny with Denis Pushilin, head of the invaded Donetsk People's Republic, has also raised the alarm.
The Chechen leader's luxury private jet was known to have made several trips recently to the UAE, plus he has been less visible than usual in recent weeks.
While Kadyrov, 46, is one of Putin’s closest allies, he has also strongly attacked the running of the war, especially by the Russian defence ministry and certain generals.
The claims suggest Kadyrov may have been poisoned, a fate which reportedly befell his close ally Major-General Apti Alaudinov last month in an “attempted assassination”.
“There is information that the chief nephrologist of the UAE, Dr Yasin Ibrahim El-Shahat, a well-known doctor with 30 years experience, has arrived in Grozny [the capital of Chechnya],” Kazakh journalist Azamat Maytanov citing his own sources claimed on his Telegram channel.
He continued: "His [Dr Yasin's] area of expertise lies in nephrology, dialysis, transplantation, glomerulonephritis, and acute renal failure. Kadyrov is allegedly very bad and has serious kidney problems.”
Exiled Kremlin foe Leonid Nevzlin echoed the claims, which were also reported by Bild in Germany: "My sources confirm this. Kadyrov is treated in the UAE, and when he is in Grozny for a short time, a nephrologist from Abu Dhabi especially comes to him.
“Kadyrov clearly does not trust Russian doctors. My sources say that [problems with] kidneys are a symptom of poisoning and that's what Kadyrov is afraid of.”
Kadyrov had “made too many enemies among the generals who have access to the GRU's developments.”
The GRU is Russian military intelligence, held responsible for poisoning double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in 2018.
Putin’s FSB has also carried out poisoning attacks, for example on opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020 and Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.
Despite rumours about his health, Kadyrov urged Putin to crack down on “saboteurs” who crossed from Ukraine into Russia’s Bryansk region this week.
"Shoot to kill. To deal not only with them but also to bring to justice their families, who may live in Russia,” he urged on his Telegram channel.
“Check them thoroughly and carefully. Experience shows that without their assistance, indulgence and approval, such terrorist acts do not occur.”
Again demanding martial law, he alleged Ukraine had unleashed a "war without rules".
