Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has appeared in an online video, just days after it was reported that Vladimir Putin's key ally was seriously ill.
In a video posted to his Telegram account , the leader of the southern Russian republic filmed himself walking through the rain in an unspecified location. The video shows an asphalt path and a row of trees.
"I strongly advise all those who cannot distinguish truth from lies on the Internet to take a walk in the fresh air and put their thoughts in order," Kadyrov wrote in the comments of two videos uploaded to social media by on sunday.
Western media said they were unable to independently verify when and where the video showing Kadyrov was recorded.
The video comes after a spokesman for Ukrainian intelligence told Eastern European newspaper Nexta that Kadyrov, who took over as Chechen leader in 2007, "has been sick for a long time and there is talk of systemic health problems ."
Kadyrov "has been in a very serious condition in recent days," Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, told Ukrainian newspaper Ukrinform. There were even more serious reports.
"Some say that he is already dead, some that he is in critical condition and fell into a coma due to severe kidney failure or was poisoned," Anton Gerashchenko , an adviser to Ukraine's Interior Ministry, said in a post on "X".
Reports also suggest that Kadyrov has accused his doctor, Elkhan Suleymanov, of trying to poison him.
A Russian-language Telegram channel with more than 224,000 subscribers reported on Sunday that Kadyrov had died over the weekend, although it provided no evidence to support the claim.
A video of Kadyrov walking in the rain has appeared on his Telegram channel.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) September 17, 2023
In the video, he says: "Do sports". He says something else, but I can't make head nor tails of what he says. Maybe someone in the comments will understand him?
The caption under the video:
"I highly… pic.twitter.com/END6yUgF44
Një media ukrainase raportoi gjithashtu më herët të dielën se udhëheqësi çeçen kishte vdekur të shtunën në mbrëmje, me orën e Moskës, pa dhënë më shumë prova.
Kadyrov është një nga aleatët më të vendosur të presidentit rus Vladimir Putin dhe ekspertët sugjerojnë se lideri çeçen është shumë i varur nga Kremlini për të ruajtur pushtetin e tij.
Putin and Kadyrov have a " father-son relationship ," but one that depends on " mutual dependence ," experts tell Newsweek.
He has publicly pledged his support after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and enlisted Chechen fighters in Russia's war effort.