Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov puts his crosshairs on Poland in threatening video

Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Russia’s Chechnya, has threatened to attack Poland unless it agrees to withdraw its support of Ukraine.

“Ukraine is a done deal. What I’m interested in is Poland,” said Mr Kadyrov in a video message on his social media on Wednesday night.

“What is Poland trying to achieve? Once Ukraine is done, we can show you what we’re capable of in six seconds if there is an order."

Poland has been in the crosshairs of Russian propaganda for its highly vocal support of Ukraine. Warsaw has emerged as one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies in the war with Russia and has pushed for an EU ban on Russian oil and gas imports.

Oleg Morozov, a prominent pro-Kremlin lawmaker, said earlier this month that Poland’s support for Ukraine “is pushing Russia to put it first in line for de-Nazification” - a term that the Kremlin used to describe one of its goals in Ukraine.

'Foot soldier' for Vladimir Putin

Now, the country appears to have caught the attention of Mr Kadyrov, who calls himself a “foot soldier” of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.

He has often channelled the Kremlin’s deep frustration with the West on an array of issues, but in a manner that would be too radical for anyone in the Russian government to voice.

Mr Kadyrov has been accused of extrajudicial killings and has publicly threatened to kill his opponents.

His forces have also been accused of war crimes in Ukraine. They took part in the battle for Mariupol and were allegedly among the occupying forces who killed civilians in Kyiv suburbs.

Mr Kadyrov himself reportedly made a few trips to the frontline in Mariupol, but details from the footage suggested that it was actually filmed in Russia.

He also referenced an attack on Russia's ambassador to Poland earlier this month on Victory Day. "You better take away your weapons and your mercenaries and officially apologise for our ambassador," he warned.

A Ukrainian activist pelted red paint at Sergey Andreev as he went to lay flowers at the Soviet military cemetery in Warsaw on the anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Polish authorities expressed regret over the attack, but Russian officials said a simple apology was not enough.