Monday 20 February 2023

Kadyrov says plans to set up private military company when through with state service

Kadyrov says plans to set up private military company when through with state service

Kadyrov says plans to set up private military company when through with state service




Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov
©Elena Afonina/TASS






Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday he plans to set up a private military company after he quits state service.







"It can be said already now that Wagner (a private military company - TASS) has indisputably proved its effectiveness in military terms and has drawn a line under speculations about the its expediency. No doubt, such professional units are necessary and needed. That is why I plan, when I finish my career in state service, to provide competition to our dear brother Yevgeny Prigozhin and set up a private military company. I think I will succeed in it," he wrote on his Telegram channel.


According to Kadyrov, Wagner PMC has achieved impressive results in the zone of the special military operation. "Despite all the difficulties, Wagner attains its goals in any situation," he added.


Ramzan Kadyrov is the son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov who was assassinated in a 2004 bombing in Grozny while Prigozhin, who spent the final decade of the Soviet Union in prison, has been a close ally of Vladimir Putin for years.


Ramzan Kadyrov and Prigozhin lead forces in Ukraine largely autonomously of Russia and are staunch allies of Vladimir Putin. Although, they have also spoken out in public against the Russian military leadership.


The Wagner Group played an increasingly prominent role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, spearheading a months-long assault on the Donetsk region town of Bakhmut


Prigozhin, who spent the final decade of the Soviet Union in prison for robbery and fraud, was for years an associate of Putin.







His catering group swept up government contracts, earning him the nickname of “Putin’s Chef,” while he deployed Wagner mercenaries to fight alongside Russian servicemen in Syria and to conflicts across Africa to advance Russia’s geopolitical interests.


After years of denials, he last year admitted his links to Wagner and said he had interfered in U.S. elections.


Mounting evidence suggests the Kremlin has moved to curb what it sees as Prigozhin’s excessive political clout, ordering him to halt his public criticism of the defense ministry while advising state media to stop mentioning him or Wagner by name.



Russia’s MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:



▪️ In the Kharkov region, the settlement of Gryanikovka was completely liberated as a result of the offensive actions of the Russian troops.


▪️ In addition, Russian air strikes and artillery fire inflicted a defeat on enemy soldiers and equipment in the LPR and Kharkov region. The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this direction amounted to up to 80 troops, three armored combat vehicles, four vehicles, the Msta-B howitzer and the Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer.


▪️ In the LPR, Russian troops inflicted a comprehensive fire defeat on units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More than a hundred Ukrainian troops, two armored combat vehicles, two vehicles, Akatsia and Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, as well as D-20 and D-30 howitzers were destroyed in this direction.









▪️ In the DPR, with the support of Russian air strikes and artillery fire, the units continued their offensive. Up to 150 Ukrainian troops, five armored combat vehicles, three other vehicles, a Grad MLRS combat vehicle and a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer were destroyed. Also, three warehouses of ammunition and rocket and artillery weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed.


▪️ In the Zaporozhye region and the DPR, Russian aviation and artillery inflicted damage on enemy troops and equipment. Enemy losses amounted to more than 50 killed and wounded, four armored combat vehicles, two pickup trucks and a D-20 howitzer. In addition, an ammunition depot of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed near the settlement of Ugledar.


▪️ In the Kherson region, as a result of fire damage, up to 20 Ukrainian troops, as well as four Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, were destroyed in a day.


▪️ Russian aviation, missile forces and artillery defeated 85 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at firing positions, troops and military equipment in 112 districts.


▪️ Air defense systems shot down 11 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles per day. l


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