Chechen leader threatens Russian ultranationalists after terrorist attack near Moscow

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has expressed concern over the reaction of Russian ultranationalists to the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow (The Chechen Republic, also known as Chechnya, is a federal subject of the Russian Federation; the Ukrainian parliament has recognised it as the temporarily Russian-occupied territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – ed.). 

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Kadyrov believes that the scale of the attack is "much larger and deeper" than the attack itself, as Russia's enemies seek to undermine Russia by promoting nationalism.

Kadyrov claimed that Russia had always been a multinational and multi-religious state, adding that "false patriots" were trying to exploit people's feelings and "call for fascist methods".

He also threatened to have a "short conversation" with the instigators of the ethnic conflict.

ISW suggests that Kadyrov was addressing Russian ultranationalists who used the attack on Crocus City Hall to express hostility towards non-ethnic Russian minorities and migrants in Russia.

Kadyrov has been at the centre of high-profile ethnic and religious controversies in the past, which has likely hampered his attempts to strike a balance between upholding Chechnya's Islamic values and supporting an increasingly ultranationalist Kremlin.

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 24 March:  

• Ukrainian forces struck a Black Sea Fleet (BSF) communication centre in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea, and reportedly struck an oil depot and at least partially damaged two BSF landing ships on the night of 23 March.
• Russian forces conducted a series of drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure on the night of 23 to 24 March, mainly targeting southern and western Ukraine.
• Russian forces are reportedly approaching the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast but are unlikely to threaten the settlement with encirclement or seizure in the coming months.
• The seizure of Chasiv Yar would offer Russian forces limited but not insignificant operational benefits if they could achieve it.
• The Islamic State’s (IS) Amaq News Agency published footage on 23 March purportedly filmed from the perspective of the attackers involved in the 22 March Crocus City Hall attack.
• Russian officials proposed more anti-migrant policies in response to the Crocus City Hall attack.
• Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov expressed concerns about Russian ultranationalist reactions to the Crocus City Hall attack.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Donetsk City amid continued positional fighting along the entire line of contact on 24 March.
• Russian President [leader – ed.] Vladimir Putin signed a law on 23 March establishing a legal basis for enrolling members of the All-Russian Cossack Society into the Russian military’s mobilisation reserve, likely as part of ongoing crypto-mobilisation and military formalisation efforts.

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