Kadyrov Brags About Troops ‘Blowing Up’ Communications Tower in Russia

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Tuesday that his troops blew up a communications tower in the Russian region of Belgorod, a claim that was met with skepticism by the spokesman for an anti-Putin militia.

Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a post on his Telegram channel that an attack on the Russian communications tower by his fighters had deprived “the enemy” of communications.

“The first [attack] deprived the enemy of communications by hitting a relay tower in the Belgorod region right on target,” he wrote.

He was likely referring to groups of Russian fighters serving with the Ukrainian Armed Forces—the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion—which have crossed into the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, on multiple occasions this year.

The Freedom of Russia Legion was formed weeks after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and is made up of defectors from the Russian armed forces as well as Russian and Belarusian volunteers. The RVC also says its members include Russians fighting on Ukraine’s side against the Kremlin regime.

The groups crossed from Ukraine into Russia’s Belgorod region in late May. Days later, in early June, Russian soldiers fighting the anti-Moscow militia complained that “entire regiments” were being wiped out, while Newsweek was told that the fighters had captured some of Russia’s “trophy” equipment.

Ilya Ponomarev, an exiled Russian politician and the political representative for the Freedom of Russia Legion, expressed doubt at Kadyrov’s claims.

“It was our guys who blew up a communication tower recently somewhere in that area,” Ponomarev told Newsweek. “Sounds like a crazy idea that Kadyrov’s guys could blow up something in the Russian territory.”

Kadyrov said that the attack meant “the enemy lost contact and the ability to call for reinforcements.”

“This allowed our fighters to quickly seize the initiative and quickly destroy the enemy,” he said.

“I thank the fighters and, in particular, their commanders, dear BROTHERS – Apty Alaudinov and Rustam Aguev for the competent organization of special operations that allow us to solve combat missions without losses among personnel. Keep it up!” the Chechen leader added.

He posted a video that purportedly shows the attack.

According to Agentstvo, a Russian investigative site launched in 2021, Russian state media news outlets didn’t publish articles about the incident.

Newsweek has contacted Russia’s Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

Kadyrov has served as Chechnya’s leader since 2007 and has been accused by international groups of overseeing human-rights abuses, including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and repression.

His Chechen fighters have fought alongside Putin’s troops in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On November 27, Kadyrov said a further 3,000 of his fighters were ready to fight in Ukraine as part of new units of the Russian Defense Ministry and the Russian National Guard.

A Ukrainian intelligence official said in October that the RVC and the Freedom of Russia Legion were in the midst of planning an operation that will “surprise” Moscow.

They are “preparing for extensive operations” that aim to strike critical targets inside Russia, Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy head of Ukraine’s defense Intelligence agency, told Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda.

Ponomarev confirmed this in comments to Newsweek.

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