Photo: president.gov.ua
Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been hospitalized after suffering kidney failure, sources say.
According to the sources, Kadyrov is currently in hospital, while the Kremlin is urgently looking for a potential replacement as head of Chechnya. Members of his family, including relatives from abroad, have reportedly arrived to be with him.
Kadyrov was expected to attend a State Council meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the New Year, but those plans were disrupted by an emergency hospitalization. Media reports say that during a recent visit to Moscow he was “barely resuscitated,” after which he returned home and has not appeared in public since.
Kadyrov preparing to hand over power
In 2022, Ukraine’s Security Service placed Kadyrov on a wanted list, accusing him of encroaching on Ukraine’s territorial integrity and waging an aggressive war.
In December 2024, a video circulated online showing Kadyrov communicating with Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, while officials said some of the POWs may have been held in Chechnya. It was later confirmed that only part of the servicemen shown in the video remain in captivity.
Earlier, in May, Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that amid worsening health Kadyrov had begun preparing a successor. According to the outlet, the position could be taken by his son, Adam Kadyrov.
