Chechen ruler Kadyrov claims to have received a Cybertruck from Tesla boss Musk. Now he wants to use the vehicle, which came into the country despite sanctions, in the war against Ukraine.
Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, who is under sanctions from the West, has boasted about a Cybertruck from the US company Tesla in his Telegram news channel. The head of the Russian republic of Chechnya in the North Caucasus claimed that he had received the “cyberbeast” from Tesla boss Elon Musk. “A truly invulnerable and fast animal.”
After a tour of the Chechen capital Grozny, the 47-year-old appeared on the truck with ammunition around his neck on a machine gun mounted on the truck. With a laugh, he said that the “cyber beast” would soon be useful in the Russian war against Ukraine.
Kadyrov is being criticized internationally for serious human rights violations. Civil rights activists accuse the ardent supporter of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin of murdering political opponents, torturing prisoners and kidnapping. The ruler himself fills public offices with relatives and repeatedly violates laws with the Kremlin’s silent approval. In addition to the clip of the Cybertruck, which is likely to cost the equivalent of more than 100,000 euros, Kadyrov also distributed footage of Ukrainian war dead and prisoners.
Like hundreds of members of the Russian power apparatus, he is subject to sanctions by the West. The video is also a warning to the West that the rich and powerful in Russia are still able to obtain luxury goods that are not allowed into the country because of the sanctions. Such imports are organized through middlemen abroad. Kadyrov, for example, has excellent connections in the United Arab Emirates.
In his clip, Kadyrov said: “Elon, thank you!”, although it was not clear whether it was a gift. He also invited the billionaire to Chechnya. “I express my sincere gratitude to Elon Musk! This is, of course, the strongest genius of our time and a specialist. A great man!” Kadyrov said. He immediately fell in love – with the car.
