Chechen leader Kadyrov supports Russian withdrawal from Kherson

The leader of the Russian constituent republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, considers the Russian troop withdrawal from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and the entire right bank of the Dnipro River to be the correct decision.

The new commander of Russian troops in Ukraine, Sergey Surovikin, has thus saved thousands of soldiers from de facto encirclement, Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.

Surovikin had made a "difficult but correct decision between senseless sacrifices for loud declarations and saving priceless soldiers' lives."

Kherson, he said, is a difficult area where it is not possible to have a stable and regular supply of ammunition and form a strong rearguard.

"Why wasn't this done in the first days of the special operation?" he complained.

Surowikin, however, had acted far-sightedly and had now put his soldiers in a more advantageous strategic position. There is no reason to speak of "abandoning" Kherson, he wrote.

Kadyrov has distinguished himself as one of the fiercest supporters of the war since it began more than eight months ago and has also sent Chechen military units into Ukraine.