17 February 2023, 16:18
Kadyrov's call to hush up losses is caused by combat failures
The proposal addressed by Ramzan Kadyrov to heads of Russian regions not to report the casualties is in line with the Kremlin's desire given that the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine has been on for a year already, political analysts have noted.
The regional heads should not report the death toll in the SMO, but simply provide assistance to casualties' families, Ramzan Kadyrov has stated, calling on the regional authorities "not to comment on the losses." Since the start of the SMO in Ukraine, the deaths of at least 80 Chechen law enforcers have been officially confirmed.
Kadyrov's criticism of the heads of regions for voicing out the number of casualties in the SMO is his personal initiative, Evgeny Minchenko, the head of the "Minchenko Consulting" Group, believes. In his opinion, a "campaign to glorify the participants" of the SMO is underway in Russia, but its efficiency is low.
Kadyrov's call fits in with the Moscow's policy on casualties, Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, has noted.
"There was a time when losses were reported an order of magnitude smaller than they were in reality. And then they decided not to do this at all ... Kadyrov decided to speak out in the wake of the centre's policy to keep losses secret. As well as, for example, hiding information about the incomes and property of officials and MPs," Mr Kutaev has explained.
According to his version, Kadyrov decided in this way to remind about himself.
In the opinion of Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst and professor at the Free Riga University, Kadyrov spoke out on this issue with the approval of the Kremlin. The fact that this statement was made a year after the start of the SMO is cause by the protraction thereof, Professor Oreshkin has pointed out.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 16, 2023 at 11:23 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Naim Suleimanov Source: СK correspondent
