Chechnya’s Kadyrov, a Putin ally, wants to be a mercenary

The private military company Wagner Group is gaining more notoriety in Russia and pro-Russian countries. The mercenary group is even inspiring the leader of Chechnya to one day form his group of soldiers for hire.

Ramzan Kadyrov is the head of the Chechen Republic. He’s close allies with Vladimir Putin, and a strong supporter of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There are even reports he sent three of his underage sons to fight in the war, another potential war crime on his resume.

Over the weekend, Kadyrov posted on the Telegram social media platform that after he decides to leave government, he plans to start his own mercenary force to compete with the Wagner Group, headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In the post, Kadyrov called Prigozhin a “dear brother.” Kadyrov also posted, “We can say confidently that Wagner has shown its mettle in military terms and drawn a line under discussions about whether or not such private military companies are needed.”

46-year-old Kadyrov has led Chechnya for the last 15 years. He’s also a colonel general in the Russian military.

However the Chechen forces, led by Kadyrov, don’t fight under the command of the top Russian generals. Instead, Kadyrov’s military operates in a largely autonomous fashion in Ukraine, similar to how Prigozhin operates Wagner.

Previously, Kadyrov said once the fighting in Ukraine is over, he wants to take his invasion force to Poland, and continue fighting to denazify the region.

While he’s always supported Putin, Kadyrov’s vocal criticisms of Russia’s military leadership is growing. Western intelligence outlets said there’s a growing rift between Russia’s military leadership and private military companies like Wagner.

The rise in popularity of mercenary forces outside traditional Russian military command structures could one day pose a threat to Russian stability. But Kadyrov said both the organized military and private military companies are needed and necessary.

Reuters contributed to this report.