The Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, has threatened to send people from the republic to fight in the war in Ukraine if they break the law or behave inappropriately outside Chechnya. He gave the order to his aide and State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov, who oversees the work of the Chechen leader’s representatives in Russian regions and relations with Chechen diaspora communities.

At a meeting with Kadyrov, Delimkhanov reported that “this work is most actively established and carried out in major cities and regions with sizeable Chechen communities, including Moscow, St Petersburg, Volgograd, Rostov, Kazan and other cities”.

Discussing the behaviour of people from Chechnya outside the republic, Kadyrov said that “those responsible must be jailed, and those who are being harassed must be protected”. However, he claimed that in 99.9% of cases, Chechens themselves were to blame.

“Then their relatives start complaining, saying that Russians don't like us and are hostile towards us. And this, in turn, plays into the hands of Western intelligence services that have sold themselves out, and Europeans [probably referring to Chechens living in European countries — editorial note]. This gives them material that they can then use,” the head of the republic said.

Kadyrov ordered officials to “bring home those who behave inappropriately” and promised to “send to the special military operation those who want to fight, so they can prove themselves there”.

He also instructed officials to step up efforts to explain the authorities’ position to people from Chechnya living elsewhere in Russia and to monitor their behaviour and any offences they might commit.

In response, Delimkhanov assured him: “Together with the Chechen Interior Ministry and other agencies, we will do everything possible to prevent actions by our compatriots that discredit our people, our republic and our religion.”

Kadyrov later published an account of the meeting on his Telegram channel. In that version, he described the issue in more moderate terms, referring to representatives of Chechnya “whose behaviour has drawn justified criticism”. They would be given an opportunity to prove themselves in the zone of the “special military operation” and demonstrate their loyalty to the Fatherland “through concrete actions”, he wrote.

In the same post, Kadyrov said he had instructed officials to step up their work with young people and counter those attempting to persuade them to engage in unlawful activities.