[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen government, an Islamic autonomous republic within Russia, advised the Russian government to use low-yield nuclear weapons. The Chechen Republic is participating in the war in Ukraine as part of the Russian military.
According to major foreign media, on the 1st (local time), Kadyrov criticized the Russian military's withdrawal from Lyman, a strategic stronghold in eastern Ukraine, through his Telegram channel, stating, "In my personal opinion, more bold measures should be taken, such as declaring martial law in the border areas and using low-yield nuclear weapons."
Kadyrov, who is loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, openly recommended the use of nuclear weapons.
President Putin, after annexing four occupied territories in Ukraine the day before, hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons, saying he would use all means to defend Russian territory.
President Putin escalated the threat of nuclear weapon use by saying, "There is a precedent of the United States using nuclear weapons (in Japan)."
Currently 45 years old, Kadyrov began ruling the Islamic autonomous republic of Chechnya within Russia, which had been engulfed in turmoil, in 2007, succeeding his father Akhmad Kadyrov, the former president of the Chechen Republic who was assassinated in 2004.
In exchange for his loyalty to President Putin and the Kremlin, he has wielded absolute power within the republic, causing controversies over human rights abuses.
When Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February, he immediately dispatched the notorious Chechen National Guard (Internal Troops) unit to the battlefield to support the Russian military.
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