Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Chechnya on Tuesday, marking his first trip to the region in 13 years.
During the visit, he met with Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the North Caucasus republic, as well as Chechen troops and volunteers preparing to fight in Ukraine, according to a Kremlin statement.
At a special forces academy in Gudermes, named after Putin, he praised the soldiers for their commitment, stating that they make Russia "absolutely invincible."
He acknowledged the difference between training and the real danger of combat, commending the troops for their courage and dedication to defending the fatherland.
Putin also visited a newly built mosque, where Kadyrov and the supreme mufti of Chechnya presented him with a certificate naming him an honorary citizen of Chechnya. Kadyrov showed Putin a model of a new residential neighborhood in Grozny that is also named after him.
Kadyrov is a key ally of the Kremlin. He was appointed by Putin to lead Chechnya in 2007 when he was just 30 years old. He revealed in a Telegram post that Chechnya has sent over 47,000 troops to Ukraine since the war began, including around 19,000 volunteers.
The visit occurred a day after Elon Musk denied gifting Kadyrov a Tesla Cybertruck, following a video Kadyrov posted of himself driving the vehicle.
Earlier on Tuesday, Putin also visited other regions in the North Caucasus, including Kabardino-Balkaria and North Ossetia. In North Ossetia, he visited School No. 1 in Beslan, the site of a tragic 2004 siege by Islamist militants that resulted in the deaths of over 330 people, making it the deadliest incident of its kind in modern Russian history.
Speaking with mothers of children who died in the Beslan attack, Putin compared the attackers to Ukrainian forces currently involved in the incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, stating, "just as we fought terrorists, today we have to fight those who commit crimes in the Kursk region."
Chechnya holds political importance for Putin, who launched the Second Chechen War in 1999 against separatist fighters in the predominantly Muslim region. This war played a crucial role in his rise to power.
