Was this photo of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov praying taken in Ukraine?

Published on: 04/01/2022 – 13:42Modified on: 04/01/2022 – 15:24 A photo of Ramzan Kadyrov has been buzzing on social networks since March 29: We see the leader of the Chechens, who are fighting alongside Russians in Ukraine, praying at a gas station. According to some users and international media, such as the Daily Mail or Yahoo News, “this photo was published by Ramzan Kadyrov from Mariupol”, a Ukrainian city devastated by Russian offensives. But he never said so. The photo was taken more than 200 km away. The photo was shared on Twitter on March 29 claiming “Head of the Chechen Republic Kadyrov desperately wants people to think he is fighting in #Ukraine” and adding “Now he says he is in Mariupol and posting this photo, without realizing it, but there is no Rosneft station in Ukraine”. In the photo, Ramzan Kadyrov can be seen praying on a carpet in a gas station, which therefore cannot be near of Mariupol in Ukraine according to these netizens, because it is a typical Russian gas station.Some users claimed that the Chechen leader posted the photo with a caption saying that he was praying in Mariupol, Ukraine.International media like Yahoo News or the DailyMail, published the photo with a caption reading “Ramzan Kadyrov offers a prayer at a gas station during a visit to war-torn Mariupol”. Ramzan Kadyrov and his soldiers are close allies of Vladimir Putin and help the army r Russian in the war in Ukraine. {{ scope.counterText }} {{ scope.legend }} © {{ scope.credits }} {{ scope.counterText }} i {{ scope.legend }}© {{ scope.credits }} Where Ramzan Kadyrov does- he his prayer? This photo is actually a screenshot of a video of just over 2 minutes of Ramzan Kadyrov published on March 29 on some pro-Chechen channels on Telegram, for example by that of the right arm of Kadyrov, Magomed “Lord” Daudov. Video published on March 29 on certain pro-Chechen channels on Telegram, © Observers The editorial staff of the France 24 Observers geolocated the gas station that can be seen in the video shared by pro-Chechen accounts. This Rosneft service station is located 239 km east of Mariupol in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, on the M-4 highway. It is on the road from Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, to Rostov-on-Don and which is connected to Mariupol by the E58 highway. Petrol station geolocation: 46.788021, 39.665522 © GoogleMaps {{ scope.counterText }} {{ scope.legend }} © {{ scope.credits }} {{ scope.counterText }} i {{ scope.legend }}© { { scope.credits }} Ramzan Kadyrov did not claim this photo shows him praying in Mariupol there was “no Rosneft station in Ukraine” so therefore Ramzan Kadyrov had posted false information. But Ramzan Kadyrov never claimed that this particular image showed him in Mariupol. The caption under this video in the pro-Kadyrov Telegram channel where it was posted is “Короткая хроника поездки в Мариуполь” which can be translated as “Brief chronicle of the trip to Mariupol”. So these images are supposed to show it on the road from Mariupol, not inside or near the city. The station is located more than 700 km from Grozny, and about 240 km from Mariupol. ©GoogleMaps As we see at the beginning of the video, Ramzan Kadyrov is at the presidential palace in Grozny while it is still day, then finds himself at night in the gas station 730 km to the north. The trip between the two places would have taken him about 9 hours, according to the indications available on GoogleMaps. For his part, Ramzan Kadyrov never relayed the video or photo where we see him praying: he simply published , on his Telegram channel, with more than 1.6 million followers, a 5-minute video relaying his journey to Mariupol, but in which the moment of prayer is however not visible. In particular, we see the Chechen president appear in a military headquarters in an unknown location which, according to what he explains in the video, would be in Mariupol. There he meets Andrey Mordvichev, commander of the Russian army on the southeastern war front, as well as Russian soldiers and Chechen fighters. In this video, the Chechen leader appears at a military headquarters at an unconfirmed location. In the video, he explains that it is Mariupol. There he meets Andrey Mordvichev, commander of the Russian army for the southeastern war front, as well as Russian soldiers and Chechen fighters. © Telegram Kadyrov_95 No image confirms Kadyrov’s presence in MariupolRussian media followed suit after the publication of this content and claimed on March 28 that Ramzan Kadyrov had traveled to Mariupol to galvanize his troops. However, no videos or photos posted by the Chechen leader or other pro-Russian accounts do not prove that he really went to Mariupol, because none show him outside or in a recognizable place in this city. Beyond the propaganda images displayed by the various camps, for the time being, it is impossible to know with certainty who controls the city of Mariupol. >> To read on the Observers: In Mariupol, the war of images to prove who controls the city