A notorious warlord and close friend of Vladimir Putin has hit out at rumours he is close to death - by sharing this bizarre video.
Ramzan Kadyrov, 46, is seen alongside friend and Russian MP Adam Delimkhanov in the clip, in which the pair vow to "continue to carry out the tasks" citizens want achieved.
Delimkhanov then hits out at the rumours, ranting: "It is precisely for such small-minded people that we, together with our dear brother, the Head of the Chechen Republic, Hero of Russia Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov have recorded a video clip.
"Well? What do you say now?"
Delimkhanov himself was reported last month to have been killed or wounded in the war in Ukraine after being targeted by a missile strike.
But neither men look particularly strong in the clip, shared online today.
“We are still alive somehow,” Kadyrov says in the footage.
"Anyway, we don’t want to live long. We will live a short but decent life."
Delimkhanov tells him: "We will continue to carry out the tasks you have set for us."
Reports over the weekend had suggested Kadyrov - a father of 14 - was close to death.
Chechen opposition politician Tumso Abdurakhmanov said: ”Information is coming in that Kadyrov is near death and no longer speaks.
“His kidneys have completely failed, and dialysis does not help. It is possible that these are his last days.”
He was reported by some media to have flown to Mecca.
One report said: “The flight from Mecca was clearly not easy for Kadyrov.
“On his hand are visible ‘fresh’ marks, similar to traces from medical procedures. Information is being actively discussed in [Chechnya] that Kadyrov has a serious kidney disease.”
He has been dogged by such claims.
In March after being driven into the mountains of his fiefdom in the TransCaucasus, he posted: “For those who console themselves with the hope that I am terminally ill, I am sorry to upset you.
“I am healthy and full of energy…”
He admitted that “people claim I have different diseases - sometimes I [am presumed to] have problems with my kidneys, sometimes with my liver” - while denying this despite his appearance being markedly more bloated and puffy.
In June he was reported to be in an elite hospital in Moscow.
During the war in Ukraine, Putin promoted him to colonel-general in the Russian national guard, giving the Chechen additional power.
He already controls national guards with a strength of up to 30,000 and has plans for his own private army.
Even close Putin allies are known to fear Kadyrov.
With three current wives, he has ruled Chechnya for 16 years, and boasts he has been sanctioned by the West more than any other individual.
He is widely accused of human rights abuses.
