Ukrainian news agencies Ukrinform and RBC-Ukraine have reported that Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s kidneys have failed. Both media outlets cited sources in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), though no other confirmations, including from Chechen opposition media, have been reported so far.
According to the information published by Ukrainian media, Kadyrov is currently located in a private hospital in Chechnya undergoing dialysis.
A source at HUR told Ukrinform that doctors are not giving any prognosis regarding his condition. They also noted that a number of Kadyrov’s relatives had travelled to the hospital, including family members who permanently live outside Russia.
Ukrainian media has also written about consultations within the Russian leadership regarding potential successors to Kadyrov. According to RBC-Ukraine and Ukrinform, those named among the possible candidates are Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov, the deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces and commander of the Akhmat special forces Apti Alaudinov, as well as Ramzan Kadyrov’s eldest son, 20-year-old Akhmat Kadyrov. However, while Akhmat Kadyrov might have been named, according to the Russian constitution, only persons who have reached the age of 30 can be elected as heads of Russian republics.
Earlier in January, Ramzan Kadyrov appointed Akhmat Kadyrov as acting deputy chair of the Chechen government, combining the post with his previous position as Chechen Minister for Physical Culture and Sport.
Ramzan Kadyrov has shown other signs of poor health in recent months. At the beginning of January, Kadyrov published a video filmed on 3 January in which he is seen walking with a cane.
On 31 December 2025, the Russian independent outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that Kadyrov had been hospitalised in Moscow due to a sharp deterioration in his health. They cited a source claiming that Kadyrov had planned to attend the State Council meeting in person and arrived in Moscow on 24 December. However, on that night, he was taken to the Central Clinical Hospital of the presidential property management department by ambulance. The source claims that no contingency plan was in place for Chechnya’s participation in the State Council meeting, and the event went ahead without a delegation from the republic.
Novaya Gazeta Europe had previously reported that Kadyrov was diagnosed with pancreatic necrosis in 2019.
Since then, sporadic reports in independent media and opposition Telegram channels have speculated about his possible hospitalisations and his health. In April 2024, Kadyrov attempted to dispel such rumours by releasing a video showing him exercising.
According to sources cited by Novaya Gazeta Europe, health problems affecting the head of Chechnya began to progress noticeably after his hospitalisation at the private Aymedi clinic in Grozny in early 2025. Since then, he has appeared in public far less frequently and has been less involved in the day-to-day governance of the region in his usual manner.
In May 2025, in the wake of persistent reports about his allegedly deteriorating health, Kadyrov released a video accompanied by a text stating: ‘I will live as long as I am destined to’, adding that ‘death is the path of every person’.
At the same time, Kadyrov’s press service regularly publishes videos in which he is training and appears active. At the end of October 2025, footage was released showing him performing a bench press.
During a recent live phone-in, Kadyrov said that he had taken official leave four times over the course of 2025. This is an atypical practice for him, especially given he had previously been known for an almost uninterrupted working schedule. In previous years, according to his own statements, Kadyrov usually took leave only for a short period during the New Year holidays. In 2025, however, his New Year ‘leave’ lasted almost two months.
During the same live broadcast, Kadyrov commented on his condition, mentioning ‘nervous disorders’ and a constant feeling of tension. He linked this state to concerns for Chechen fighters involved in the fighting in Ukraine.
Sources cited by Novaya Gazeta Europe claim that Kadyrov spends most of his time either at his residence or at the Aymedi clinic. According to the outlet, Kadyrov consulted German doctors twice during the year, with the most recent consultation allegedly taking place in November at a private clinic in Dubai. One source presented as an officer of the regional Federal Security Service (FSB) told the outlet that ‘there is no hope for a good outcome’.
Elizaveta Chukharova
