A senior Ukrainian official has suggested that the Kremlin faked a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been rumored to be seriously ill.
Russia’s state news agency and a pro-Putin journalist released video from the meeting — and the Kremlin published stills and a transcript of the conversation between the two leaders on its official website, claiming it took place Thursday.
But Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, raised doubts about the meeting between Putin and Kadyrov, write in a note at Xearlier Twitter: “Unclear when this meeting took place.”
In a follow-up post, Gerashchenko summarized five clues indicating that the meeting actually took place at another time, which was first presented by the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin met with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov Thursday. ZUMAPRESS.com The reporter noted that in the first video from the meeting, the time on Putin’s watch was 12:48 pmTwitter / @Gerashchenko_en
“The first video of the meeting was published by a Kremlin propagandist [Pavel] Zarubin,” wrote Gerashchenko. “It shows the time on Putin’s watch: 12:48. The full version of the video is less than four minutes long, then Kadyrov’s conversation with Putin abruptly stops (because Kadyrov doesn’t look well?).”
Journalists covering the meeting were then asked to leave the room, according to a Telegram channel said to have ties to the Russian security apparatus.
Zarubin released the first video from the meeting at 13:11 pm local time, but it only showed Kadyrov from behind, Gerashchenko said citing a VChK-OGPU broadcast.
The conversation between Putin and Kadyrov reportedly lasted only 4 minutes, but the time on the president’s watch tells a different story. ZUMAPRESS.com’s video metadata of the meeting revealed that it was edited on a MacBook laptop, even though all Apple products have been banned in Russian government offices for a month. Twitter / @Gerashchenko_en
The full version was published at 13:22 and showed Kadyrov grinning.
“The video’s metadata reveals that it was edited on a MacBook,” the Ukrainian government official said. “About a month ago, Apple products began to be banned in government offices, starting with the Kremlin.”
This could mean either Kadyrov’s meeting with Putin took place more than a month ago, “or propagandists like always break their own rules.”
Meanwhile, Kadyrov’s plane is said to be still in Moscow, and security continues to be heightened at the city’s Central Clinical Hospital, but guards have been moved to another building, the Telegram channel reported.
Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, raised doubts about the meeting. Anton Gerashchenko
Rumors swirled this month that 46-year-old Kadyrov, dubbed “Putin’s attack dog,” was seriously ill, with a Ukrainian official claiming he was in a coma in hospital.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the Chechen warlord was struggling with severe kidney problems, requiring the attention of the United Arab Emirates’ top kidney specialist.
But when asked about his health problems that Zarubin said in an allegedly shot interview Thursday, Kadyrov laughed and proclaimed “Akhmad – power” – a Chechen political slogan invoking his late father Akhmad Kaydrov – while playfully flexing his biceps.
Kadyrov, dubbed Putin’s “attack dog” by critics, is said to be seriously ill. Ramzan Kadyrov
Kadyrov later posted on Telegram that he and Putin had talked about various topics during their face-to-face meeting, including the role of Chechen fighters in Ukraine. He added vaguely that “other issues” had been raised, and promised “more on this later.”
It is not clear if he was referring to the beating of an ethnic Russian prisoner at the hands of his 15-year-old son.
Kadyrov sparked widespread anger even among Putin supporters when he praised his young son, Adam, who was seen on video mercilessly beating a prisoner, Nikita Zhuravel, for allegedly burning the Koran.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
