Chechen leader Kadyrov claims Russia has taken control of Severodonetsk

Russia has taken control of the city of Severodonetsk in Lugansk province, Kadyrov announced on May 28.

“The city of Severodonetsk is completely under our control. The city has been liberated. People can rest assured that they are no longer in danger,” Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to Kadyrov, initially planned time to control the city was one week, but they achieved their goal more quickly.

“The original plan was to liberate Severodonetsk in a week, but then I adjusted and set the mission to gain control of the city in three days. Our soldiers also excelled in completing the task beyond expectations. – in just three hours,” Kadyrov added.

Kadyrov also asserted that all Ukrainian forces “have fled from Severodonetsk” when they learned that soldiers from Chechnya participated in “cleaning up the city”. “It was the prisoners held by our special forces that admitted it,” he stressed.

Ukraine has not yet responded to Mr. Kadyrov’s comments.

On May 25, Chechen forces said they and the Russian army had surrounded the city of Severodonetsk from three different directions.

After three months of hostilities, Ukraine lost control of most of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the Donbass, Kherson Oblast and parts of the southern coast.

Last week, Mr. Kadyrov announced on an online video: “The situation in Ukraine is over, now we are concerned with Poland.”

“Once the operation in Ukraine is completed, we will show what we can do within six seconds if ordered,” he stressed.

As one of the closest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kadyrov regularly posts criticisms of the West on social media, especially Instagram.