The video, which in March 2022 showed Ramzan Kadyrov "at the front line" near Kyiv, turned out to be a staged production. The filming did not take place in Ukraine, but in the basement of a secret prison of the Chechen special forces "Akhmat" in Grozny.
How the illusion of presence near Kyiv was created
The Chechen TV channel "Grozny" released a clip on March 13, 2022. In the frame, Kadyrov in camouflage sat in a basement room, on the wall of which a Chechen flag with a portrait of his father had been hung in advance. Propagandists claimed: the head of Chechnya personally arrived in the combat zone and is only 7 kilometers from the Ukrainian capital.
However, journalists from "Novaya Gazeta Europe" found out: the entire "meeting" was a staging by the PR team. Filming took place on March 12 in one of the rooms of the secret prison of the special rapid response unit "Akhmat" in Grozny.
Who ended up in the frame
According to sources of the publication, some participants in the video were brought to the "meeting" directly from the neighboring cells of this same basement. Among the extras, journalists identified the commander of the "South" battalion, Khusein Mezhidov, and the commander of the "Wind" regiment, Magomed Tushayev.
In the frame, Kadyrov listened to a report on how his subordinates "successfully carried out the order" and "stormed" a children's home in Ukraine — which at that time was completely empty.
Context: GRU operation on the Sumy direction
Let us recall that during February–April 2026, the Main Directorate of Intelligence carried out a special operation aimed at liquidating mercenaries of the "Akhmat" unit of the Rosgvardia on the Sumy direction.
As a result of the operation, the enemy unit suffered the greatest losses since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. According to available data, 41 militants were liquidated, and another 87 were wounded. In addition, more than a hundred Kadyrovtsy are considered missing.
The investigation by RBK-Ukraine and "Novaya Gazeta Europe" demonstrates how propaganda materials can be created far from real events — and how important it is to check sources, especially when it comes to military actions.
