Chechen Leader Says His Troops In Ukraine Captured Mariupol City Hall

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said Thursday that his forces seized the city hall of Mariupolan important port in the southeast of Ukraine surrounded by Russian troops.

“The boys reported on the radio that they liberated the Mariupol administration building and raised our flag”declared Kadyrov on Telegram, stating that the Ukrainian forces had “abandoned their positions”.

This former rebel leader, now close to the Kremlin, indicated that other Russian units were advancing towards this port, which is largely destroyed by bombing.

This information could not be independently verified and has been disputed by Ukrainian authorities.

Kadyrov -highly criticized by international NGOs for accusations of serious human rights violations in Chechnya– announced on March 17 that a thousand volunteers from Chechnya were on their way to fight in Ukraine.

The leader claimed on Monday that he himself was in Ukraine with Moscow forces at a captured airfield near kyiv.

_________________________________