Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, 47, is suffering from pancreatic disease and has ‘no hope of recovery,’ according to exiled newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe.
Kadyrov, a leading ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, has been living with ‘pancreatic necrosis’ for more than five years, the news outlet claims. This condition has reportedly led to his frequent absences from the public stage.
A recent photograph shows the Chechen warlord looking unusually bloated. Novaya Gazeta Europe reports that Kadyrov’s size has increased by one and a half times, and he exhibits signs of pancreatogenic ascites.
Despite officials denying any significant health problems, the news outlet insists that Kadyrov is terminally ill, potentially dealing a blow to Putin’s regime.
Kadyrov was reportedly hospitalized at Moscow’s elite Central Clinical Hospital for about a month with acute pulmonary failure after overdosing on sleeping pills to relieve pain. Doctors stabilized his respiratory function, but MRI findings indicate no full recovery.
Sources close to Kadyrov and doctors in the Russian presidential administration’s hospital were cited by the newspaper, which was founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov.
Astonishingly, one of Kadyrov’s closest allies, Adam Delimkhanov, is quoted as saying, ‘The old leader will no longer be there, the illness will seriously affect him. Even if he recovers now, he’ll be neither alive nor dead.’
In September 2023, amidst health rumors, Kadyrov posted a bizarre ‘I am alive’ video from inside the Kremlin’s leading hospital. He pretended to visit his sickly uncle, but it now appears he was the patient.
Kadyrov, a father of at least 14 children with reportedly three wives, has recently been promoting his children to government positions. In November, he appointed his then 15-year-old son Adam as the head of his security service responsible for hundreds of armed operatives.
However, Putin is rumored to be preparing a successor for Kadyrov, with Major-General Apti Alaudinov, 50, a military commander loyal to Kadyrov, emerging as a possible replacement.
