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Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's Chechen Republic, hinted on Wednesday that the war in Ukraine had entered a new phase.
Weeks after demanding a change in strategy from Russia's military, and criticizing how the conflict has been handled so far, Kadyrov, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said, "Everything will be different."
Kadyrov pointed to recent bombardment by Russian forces on major cities in Ukraine, including its capital, beginning on October 10.
Kyiv was struck in the early hours of Monday morning killing at least four people. On Tuesday Russia conducted massive airstrikes on residential areas and energy infrastructure in many regions of Ukraine, including the capital city, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Zhytomyr.
That came after last week's attacks, which caused multiple civilian casualties. Putin said the strikes were in response to an October 8 explosion on the strategically vital Kerch Strait Bridge that connects Russia's mainland to the annexed Crimean Peninsula, although Kyiv has not claimed responsibility.
"Military command and energy facilities of Ukraine are subjected to targeted attacks," Kadyrov said on his Telegram channel. "We warned the criminal leadership, which settled in Kyiv, for too long that we had not yet taken concrete measures in the course of the ['special military operation'].
"Russia has repeatedly given a chance to the command of the Satanists to come to their senses. But we were not heard or ignored. Now everything will be different. Then we will dictate the terms," the Chechen leader continued.
Kadyrov, last month, publicly ridiculed Putin's military amid a series of successful counteroffensives conducted by Kyiv in Ukraine's south and northeast. He criticized the Russian Defense Ministry after Ukrainian forces took back Izyum, Kupyansk and Balakleya in the Kharkiv region, which had been seized by Putin's forces during the course of the war.
"I'm not a strategist like the Department of Defense. Mistakes were made. I think they will draw conclusions.… I always like to tell the truth.… And, if today or tomorrow, there are no changes in the strategy for conducting a special military operation, I will have to go to the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the leadership of the country to explain the situation to them.… The situation is very interesting," he said in a message on Telegram at the time.
He also lashed out at the Defense Ministry's leadership, noting about the Kyiv-led counteroffensives: "Officials did not say anything, did not declare anything, although they saw everything."
The Russian military "gave away several cities and villages," Kadyrov said.
Kadyrov also publicly criticized Russian Colonel-General Oleksandr Lapin, saying that if it were up to him, he would demote Lapin, deprive him of his awards, and "send him to the front line with a machine gun in his hands to wash away his shame with blood."
Russia's strikes last week hit about 30 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, according to Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of "terrorizing the civilian population" with the recent strikes.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment.
About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more