Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov’s 18-year-old son reportedly in critical condition after Grozny car crash

Update: The Ingush news outlet Fortanga reported that, according to a source, Adam Kadyrov Adam Kadyrov was airlifted to a Moscow hospital. On the evening of January 16, an An-148-100EM aircraft — a “flying hospital” operated by Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations — departed from Grozny, reports iStories.

Adam Kadyrov, the 18-year-old son of the head of Chechnya, has been hospitalized in critical condition following a traffic collision in Grozny, the Chechen opposition Telegram channel Niyso and RFE/RL journalists reported on January 16. Niyso reported that Adam is unconscious, undergoing resuscitation, and being prepared for emergency transport to Moscow.

According to Niyso’s sources, Adam Kadyrov’s motorcade was traveling at high speed when the collision occurred, involving multiple vehicles and injuring several people. Security forces reportedly sealed off areas of Grozny following the crash, specifically closing roads leading to the hospital where Kadyrov is being treated.

• Adam Kadyrov is one of the most prominent children of Ramzan Kadyrov, the longtime head of Russia’s Chechen Republic. In September 2023, Ramzan Kadyrov shared a video of Adam, then 15, beating Nikita Zhuravel at a police detention center. (Zhuravel had been accused of burning a copy of the Quran.) Ramzan Kadyrov promoted the footage on social media, stating he was proud of his son
• Following the incident, Adam began receiving various awards and assumed several high-ranking positions in Chechnya. Notably, he now serves as the secretary of Chechnya’s Security Council and oversees the republic’s Internal Affairs Ministry.