Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has officially responded for the first time to reports of a January 16 accident in which his 18-year-old son, Adam, was reportedly injured. He called the reports a "fake news" spread by unknown sources.

"With artificial intelligence, anyone can be fooled. There have been 128,000 accidents across the country, 13,009 people have died, but no one cares, no one says anything. And yet, out of nowhere, this fake news story about Kadyrov's son's accident has become the number one international news story," Kadyrov fumed during a meeting with Chechen Prosecutor Arsen Adayev.

The head of the republic also announced tougher measures to combat disinformation and the spread of fake news.

As a reminder, according to media reports, Adam Kadyrov's motorcade was involved in an accident in Grozny on January 16. It was claimed that the Chechen leader's son was first taken to a republic hospital and then transferred to Botkin Hospital in Moscow. It was also reported that around 20 of his close associates were injured.

The Chechen authorities remained silent on the incident for a long time and, moreover, indirectly denied the reports, publishing videos of Adam through official websites and the accounts of famous athletes and military personnel close to the head of the republic. However, after the accident, Kadyrov's third son disappeared from public view, and some media outlets claimed that the videos featuring him were fake.