Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, called for military action to expand to NATO countries providing military aid to Ukraine. He stated on his Telegram channel that Russia should "open fire" on countries supplying Kyiv with weapons, intelligence, and other support.
"It's time to open fire, and that's it! They need to feel the smell of TNT, the roar of a Kalashnikov assault rifle, and the clang of our T-90," Kadyrov wrote.
The statement followed his address to Vladimir Putin, in which the Chechen leader assured the president that Chechen units were ready to carry out "any task." "The ground has always burned beneath the feet of Russia's enemies, and it will continue to burn them," the publication stated.
Kadyrov also claims that Russia is currently conducting "gentle combat operations" with "minimal civilian casualties," but threatened a more widespread use of force in the future.
The Chechen leader's statements come amid yet another hardening of Moscow's official rhetoric toward NATO countries. On July 17, Vladimir Putin stated that countries supplying Ukraine with weapons, intelligence, and training Ukrainian troops are effectively becoming participants in the war. Two days earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that Russia would consider any foreign military contingents that might appear in Ukraine after a possible ceasefire to be legitimate military targets.
However, this rhetoric is not new. Back in September 2024, Putin stated that allowing Ukraine to launch Western long-range missile strikes on Russian territory would mean direct NATO participation in the war. In June of that year, he also spoke about the possibility of an "asymmetric response"—supplying Russian long-range weapons to states capable of striking countries supporting Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, remains one of the most consistent proponents of this line. Since the outbreak of full-scale war, he has regularly issued harsh threats against Western countries.
In January 2024, commenting on reports about the possible deployment of British military instructors to Ukraine, Medvedev stated: "The deployment of an official British military contingent in Ukraine would mean a declaration of war on Russia."
Later, he repeatedly suggested the use of nuclear weapons against Western states. In one of his last publications, Medvedev threatened that if nuclear technology were transferred to Ukraine, the response could include strikes, including against the UK and France.
Militaristic rhetoric is also regularly heard on state television. TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov has repeatedly called for strikes against European capitals, including London, Paris, Berlin, and Brussels. Back in 2014, Dmitry Kiselev, CEO of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, declared that Russia was "the only country in the world truly capable of reducing the United States to radioactive ash." After the outbreak of full-scale war, he also repeatedly issued threats against the United Kingdom.
Against this backdrop, Kadyrov's statements appear not as an isolated emotional outburst, but as a continuation of the rhetoric that has become a familiar part of the public statements of Russian officials and state propagandists in recent years. Threats against NATO countries and European capitals are increasingly being voiced not on the fringes of the information space, but are emanating from senior political leaders and federal state media.
