Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of the Russian republic of Chechnya and an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said that Ukrainian “special forces” stole his detailed horse from a Czech stable and returned it to him in Chechnya after paying a ransom.
Kadyrov said the horse, Zazu, was stolen from a stable in the Czech Republic and was on its way back after a ransom of €20,000 (US$18,400) was paid.
Kadyrov, 46, revealed on Telegram on Monday that his horse was in good condition.
“My friends, if you need to bring something from Europe, contact the Ukrainian special services. (They work) quickly, professionally and inexpensively. Bypass the sanctions,” Kadyrov jokingly wrote on Telegram.
The horse has been imprisoned in the Czech stable since 2014, when it was frozen by the European Union as part of Kadyrov’s property funds.
The European Union imposed economic sanctions on Kadyrov because of Chechnya’s poor human rights record.
Those sanctions prevented the 16-year-old horse from racing alongside several other Kadyrov-owned horses in Europe.
