Putin makes a surprise trip to Chechnya 3 weeks into Ukraine’s cross-border incursion

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday made an unscheduled trip to Chechnya, a mainly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation, his first visit in nearly 13 years, as Ukraine’s stunning cross-border incursion into western Russia entered its third week.

Putin was greeted by Chechnya’s self-styled strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov, before visiting a special forces academy bearing his own name and speaking with volunteer fighters who train there prior to being deployed in Ukraine.

Putin praised the volunteers and said that as long as Russia has men like them, it will be “invincible,” according to reports by Russian state agencies.

Kadyrov said in a post on his official Telegram channels that more than 47,000 fighters, including volunteers, have trained at the facility since Moscow began what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.