Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov says Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations are pointless and he wants to just keep fighting
- More peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are taking place in Turkey on Tuesday.
- Kadyrov said in a Tuesday voice note that he believed the negotiations were pointless.
The Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov said he believes peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are pointless and that he wants to keep fighting the war.
Kadyrov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a voice note on Telegram on Tuesday that he did not think that peace negotiations taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, would result in any progress.
"I am thinking about the negotiations, which are taking place in Turkey. My deep conviction is that the negotiations will prove to be pointless," he said.
"I believe we must end what has been started, to destroy the Banderites and the Nazis and the devils. Only then we need to make a decision about what to do next."
The Banderites were a group of right-wing nationalists formed during World War II, and the term is now used more generally to refer to Ukrainian nationalists. Kadyrov was also referring to Russia's baseless claim that Ukraine had been taken over by Nazis, and used "denazification" as a justification for its invasion.
Kadyrov leads Chechnya, a quasi-autonomous part of Russia.
Human Rights Watch described him as an authoritarian leader who has overseen the rolling back of gay rights and an extensive use of torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.