Kremlin spokesman Peskov dodges press questions about Ramzan Kadyrov’s health, says Putin administration ‘can hardly be expected’ to comment
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press that he is the wrong person to ask questions about the health of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Rumors of Kadyrov being seriously ill, possibly in a coma, or even dead, have circulated on Telegram over the weekend. Sources within the Chechen opposition to Kadyrov’s government, Ukrainian media, and even Andriy Yusov, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), have made assertions to the effect that the Chechen governor has a major health problem.
According to Peskov, the Russian President’s Administration “can hardly be expected to verify the state of someone’s health.”
Kadyrov’s Telegram channel responded to rumors of the governor’s illness by posting a video of Kadyrov taking a walk outdoors. “I strongly recommend everyone who can’t tell the truth from lies on the Internet to go for a walk in the fresh air, set your mind straight. The rain is wonderfully refreshing,” reads the video’s caption. The time and place of the recording, however, are unclear.
