Kadyrov is given rank of Major General by Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov military rank of Major General.
Kadyrov wrote on his VKontakte page that Putin himself read out the decree by phone and congratulated him on the new rank.
"Yesterday, I had the honor to accept congratulations on the military rank of Major General personally from the President of Russia, Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Vladimir Putin," Kadyrov wrote.
The head of Chechnya reminded that he is Putin's "faithful infantryman" and is ready to fulfill any of Putin’s "most complex orders on any continent".
Kadyrov also said that by this decree he was transferred from the Russian Interior Ministry to Russian National Guard.
On July 20, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions against the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, his wife and two daughters.
Restrictions on Kadyrov were imposed under section 7031 of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020.
Under this provision, the U.S. Department of State must prohibit entry to a foreign civil servant if there is credible information that he was directly or indirectly involved in corruption or human rights violations.
"The Department has extensive credible information that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous gross violations of human rights dating back more than a decade, including torture and extrajudicial killings," the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.