Kadyrov Denies Reports of Son’s Car Crash, Calls Claims Disinformation

Kadyrov Dismisses Reports of Son’s Car Crash Nearly a Month After Incident

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has finally addressed rumors about his son Adam’s involvement in a serious car accident, dismissing them as “disinformation” nearly a month after the reports first emerged.

During a meeting with Chechen prosecutor Arsan Adaev, Kadyrov expressed frustration about what he described as manufactured news. “You can fool anyone with the help of artificial intelligence. There were 128,000 road accidents across the country, 13,009 people have died, but nobody cares and nobody says anything. Yet a fake story about an accident involving Kadyrov’s son, which came from who knows where, became the number one story in global news,” he stated.

The delayed response comes after widespread reports circulated in mid-January claiming that 18-year-old Adam Kadyrov had been critically injured in a car crash in Grozny, the Chechen capital. Local media outlet Kavkaz.Realii, citing two informed sources, and the Chechen opposition Telegram channel Niyso both reported the alleged incident on January 16.

Further fueling speculation, Russian media outlets reported that a medical aircraft, potentially carrying Adam, landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport during the night of January 16-17, with Ramzan Kadyrov’s plane reportedly arriving shortly thereafter. Neither Kadyrov nor Chechen officials addressed these reports at the time, allowing rumors to persist for weeks.

The Chechen leader now says he plans to strengthen measures against cybercrime in the republic, particularly targeting what he considers false information. This stance aligns with Russia’s broader crackdown on independent media and dissenting voices since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Adam Kadyrov holds significant prominence in Chechnya despite his young age. At just 18, he serves as secretary of the Chechen Security Council and oversees the republic’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, demonstrating the nepotistic nature of governance in the Russian republic.

The younger Kadyrov first gained notorious international attention in October 2023 when, at age 15, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Chechen Republic after a video emerged showing him beating 19-year-old Ukrainian prisoner Mykyta Zhuravel. The incident occurred in a Grozny pre-trial detention center after Zhuravel was accused of burning a copy of the Quran. Ramzan Kadyrov publicly expressed pride in his son’s actions, which were widely condemned by human rights organizations.

Since then, Adam has accumulated various awards and high-ranking positions within Chechnya’s governmental structure, a pattern reflecting how the elder Kadyrov has consolidated power within his family network.

Chechnya, a republic within the Russian Federation, has been under Ramzan Kadyrov’s authoritarian rule since 2007. His leadership has been characterized by allegations of serious human rights abuses, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals, according to numerous international human rights organizations.

The Kadyrov regime has maintained unwavering loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Chechen forces participating in Russia’s military operations in Syria and Ukraine. In return, Chechnya has received substantial financial support from Moscow and considerable autonomy in its internal affairs.

This latest episode underscores the opaque nature of information coming from Chechnya and highlights the Kadyrov family’s sensitivity to reports that challenge their carefully cultivated public image.