Vladimir Putin's warlord ally 'terminally ill' as Russia faces new blow in Ukraine war

Vladimir Putin's ailing warlord ruler of Chechnya is terminally ill, experts claim, as the country faces a new blow.

wants his son, Adam, 17, to succeed him, it has been claimed, which has led to a rift between him and Putin. The Chechen leader - who has strongly backed 's war, sending tens of thousands of troops to support the invasion of - has now moved his assets abroad, fearing for his family when he dies or is incapacitated by health problems.

The 48-year-old has awarded his son multiple medals and appointed the teenager to a succession of posts, building him up as crown prince and heir apparent. Last week Adam - one of his 15 children - was made "curator" of the Chechen interior ministry.

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Earlier, aged 16, he was put in charge of his father's security apparatus and given a leadership role at the University of Russian Special Forces, in Chechnya. Leading investigative journalist Andrey Kalitin said Kadyrov senior's health is now "very poor" with "tough decisions" over the succession imminent.

"The Kremlin has two or three candidates," he said. "Ramzan Kadyrov has one. His name is Adam, he is 17 years old, he has more than 15 awards." Even if Putin appointed Adam, he would need a regency-style arrangement until he is 30 under Russian laws.

The teen won his father's backing after he assaulted a prisoner accused of burning the Quran. Kadyrov seems not to trust Putin to appoint Adam and has negotiated with Middle East rulers to accept his huge family in exile, already moving assets abroad, according to reports.

Opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky said: "He is negotiating with Arab sheikhs about the safe evacuation of his family and the safety of his assets. And we are not talking about some distant prospect - he is in a hurry. Why?

"Because he is sick. Because he understands [that] as soon as he shows weakness, the jackals will start tearing him apart. And his own. They are not held together by respect, not by loyalty - only by fear.

"He knows: if tomorrow he falls into a coma, the day after tomorrow his structure will be torn apart by those whom he himself fed. That is why he is fussing. He is negotiating where the law works. This is not the end yet. But the beginning of the finale - for sure."

Kadyrov is believed to have amassed a vast fortune as a reward for taming war-riven Chechnya since taking over from his assassinated father. The FSB security service officers reportedly informed Putin, 72, about Kadyrov's secret high-level negotiations in the Middle East.

Putin likely sees this as a betrayal even though Kadyrov sent troops from his private army when the Russian leader faced a coup bid from now-dead Wagner private army chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in June 2023. Accused of human rights abuses, Kadyrov has boasted that he has been sanctioned more than anyone by the West.

He has openly criticised some Russian commanders. Rumours have persisted that a bloated Kadyrov has "serious" pancreatic and kidney problems, with claims that recently photos are carefully edited and do not show him below the chest.