-
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov says Russian forces will take Kyiv
The Swiss Info reported, citing Reuters, Ramzan Kadyrov, the powerful head of Russia's republic of Chechnya, said early on Monday (Apr 11) that there will be an offensive by Russian forces not only on the besieged port of Mariupol, but also on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
Kadyrov said in a video posted on his Telegram channel: "There will be an offensive ... not only on Mariupol, but also on other places, cities and villages."
He added: "Luhansk and Donetsk - we will fully liberate in the first place ... and then take Kyiv and all other cities."
Kadyrov, who has often described himself as Russian President Vladimir Putin's "foot soldier," said there should be no doubt about Kyiv.
Kadyrov said: "I assure you: not one step will be taken back."
Kadyrov has been repeatedly accused by the United States and European Union of rights abuses, which he denies.
Moscow fought two wars with separatists in Chechnya, a mainly Muslim region in southern Russia, after the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. But it has since poured huge sums of money into the region to rebuild it and given Kadyrov a large measure of autonomy.
Boris Johnson meets President Zelenskey in a 'surprise' visit to Kyiv
The report noted that Kremlin describes its actions in Ukraine as a "special operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" its neighbour and on Sunday Russia intensified its attacks in eastern Ukraine.
Source: swissinfo
