Putin Ally Claims He Was Promoted After Urging for Nuclear Strike

As fears continue to mount that Vladimir Putin may resort to nuclear weapons in his ongoing war with Ukraine, one of the Russian president's allies who has called for nuclear attacks said he had been promoted to a higher military rank.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov wrote in a Telegram post on Wednesday that Putin had awarded him the rank of colonel general, and that "Vladimir Vladimirovich personally informed me about this and congratulated me," in an apparent reference to the Russian president's first and middle name.

"I am immensely grateful to our Supreme Commander-in-Chief for the high appreciation of my merits!" Kadyrov wrote, according to an English translation. "This is a great honor for me. I give my word that I will justify the trust placed in advance."

Newsweek was not able to independently verify Kadyrov's promotion and reached out to the Kremlin for confirmation and comment.

While veiled or blatant nuclear threats have been issued by Russian officials and state media pundits for months, Putin has faced recent criticism for threatening in an address last month that he could respond to what he alleged was "nuclear blackmail" from the West with his nation's weapons. Kadyrov, who has repeatedly used escalatory rhetoric in regard to the Ukraine war, has made an even more direct call for nuclear strikes.

Following Russia's recent defeat in the city of Lyman, Kadyrov called for "more drastic measures" in Ukraine, such as the use of "low-yield nuclear weapons" and a declaration of martial law in border areas.

Kadyrov has purportedly been promoted several times in recent years. In July 2020, the Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported that Kadyrov had announced through the Russian social network VK that he had been assigned the rank of major general.

Kadyrov said that Putin also directly read him the order during a phone call in that instance. In March this year, Kadyrov was again promoted, this time to the rank of lieutenant general, The Guardian reported.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in an explainer on Russian military rank that a colonel general is equivalent to a U.S. three-star lieutenant general. A Russian colonel general is higher in rank than a Russian lieutenant general, while a Russian lieutenant general is higher in rank than a Russian major general.

Kadyrov's promotion moves him even closer in rank to some of Russia's top military officials. A Russian colonel general is a step below an army general, the rank that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu currently holds, according to the ISW.