One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, the warlord leader of Chechnya, is said to be critically ill with kidney issues, raising suspicions that he was poisoned.
According to Kazakh journalist Azamat Maytanov, Ramzan Kadyrov brought the top kidney expert from the United Arab Emirates to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, for treatment.
Since he believes he was poisoned and does not trust Moscow medics, Kadyrov, the Chechen Republic's leader since 2007, chose a physician from outside the region, New York Post reported.
"Kadrov is allegedly very bad and has serious kidney problems," Maytanov wrote.
"Kadyrov is ill and has already become a drug addict," he continued, citing Akhmed Zakayev, the now-exiled former prime minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
"He claims that some kind of energy pills previously supported the overactivity of the head of Chechnya."
Since Russia invaded Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Kadyrov has been a prominent supporter of Moscow and has fought for Putin's agenda in the year since the full-scale invasion started.
According to the Kyiv Independent, Putin promoted him to Colonel General in the Russian National Guard the month after he urged Moscow to use low-yield nuclear bombs against Ukraine. He referred to it as a "Big Jihad" in October.
The claims that Kadyrov was poisoned follow his statement last month that one of his top generals had been poisoned by an envelope.
According to Newsweek, Kadyrov claimed on Telegram that Apti Alaudinov, the leader of the Akhmat special forces, had been poisoned on Feb. 8 with a strongly scented letter.
The Chechen warlord called the incident an "assassination attempt." Alaudinov has since recovered.
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov, born on Oct. 5, 1976, is a Russian politician who currently serves as the Head of the Chechen Republic.
He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the separatist appointed mufti of Chechnya.
He is a colonel general in the Russian military.
Kadyrov is the son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, who switched sides in the Second Chechen War by offering his service to Vladimir Putin's administration in Russia and became Chechen president in 2003.
Akhmad Kadyrov was assassinated in May 2004.
In February 2007, Ramzan Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as president, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post.
He was engaged in violent power struggles with Chechen commanders Sulim Yamadayev and Said-Magomed Kakiyev for overall military authority, and with Alkhanov for political authority.
Since November 2015, he has been a member of the Advisory Commission of the State Council of the Russian Federation.
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