Russia-Ukraine war. Timeline of events, March 30-31

🔘 “Georgia participates in all international financial sanctions that were imposed against the Russian Federation due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” President of the Republic Salome Zurabishvili said on CNN.

🔘 Russia has blocked the extension of the OSCE mission in Ukraine.

Other news from Ukraine:

🔘 Explosions in Lviv, Odessa and Dnipro are reported by local media. There has been no official information yet. Lviv authorities denied reports of explosions in the region

🔘 The Azov Regiment called on the military-political leadership of Ukraine to conduct an operation to de-blockade Mariupol.

🔘 The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the Vyshgorodsky district of the Kiev region. This was announced by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Command of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Gruzevich.

🔘 President Zelensky, after a conversation with Erdogan, said that Turkey is ready to become a security guarantor for Ukraine.

🔘 The Russian military fired on the car of student Anastasia Tagirova, who was carrying humanitarian aid to Chernihiv. The girl died. — UNIAN

🔘 Russian troops left the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to the State Agency of Ukraine for the management of the exclusion zone. They took with them the prisoners who guarded the station.

Photo: destroyed column of Russian troops in the Kiev region – UNIAN

In the world:

🔘 US President Joe Biden called on American companies to increase oil production. He noted that high oil prices are “beating Americans at the gas station.” “I know how painful it is,” Biden said and called for a “made in America” clean energy future that will help Americans cope with rising fuel prices. He directly linked the rise in gas prices in the United States with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and several times called the jump in gas prices “Putin’s price increase”

🔘 Austria opposes the imposition of an embargo on the supply of oil and gas from Russia, said the chancellor of the republic, Karl Nehammer, reports Bloomberg.

🔘 The French authorities have arrested two helicopters of the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov with a total value of 26 million dollars.

Photo: situation in Ukraine on March 31, according to British intelligence

In Russia:

🔘 Russia has banned entry into the country of the top leadership of the European Union in response to sanctions.

🔘 From April 1 to July 15, 2022, another spring conscription campaign will be held in Russia. The authorities assure that the conscripts will not be sent to Ukraine.

Photo: a young man with an anti-war poster was detained at the Red Square – UNIAN

🔘 Erdogan announced plans to hold talks with Zelensky and Putin this week, media reports. The President of Turkey intends to raise the topic of organizing an early meeting of the heads of Ukrainian and Russian states

🔘 Putin has announced that he signed a decree on gas trade with unfriendly countries in rubles. It will come into force on April 1st.

🔘 300 soldiers from South Ossetia refused to fight in Ukraine and decided to return home. According to Ossetian media reports, after deployment of its servants to Ukraine, South Ossetia was essentially left without most of its military, which caused a significant wave of discontent. On top of that, an unknown commander forbade the Ossetians to take the body of a dead comrade from the battlefield.

🔘 Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the politicians of the Netherlands:

“We have no right to give this war another 36 days! We must collectively force Russia to seek peace as soon as possible! Hundreds of children are killed. Thousands of people are killed. Tens of thousands of houses have been destroyed. Burnt cities, villages. Russian invaders rape women in the occupied areas. They steal whatever they find”.

Photo: man next to a destroyed house in Ukraine – Zelensky’s official telegram channel

Situation in Ukraine: 

🔘 The number of victims of rocket attack on the building of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration has grown to 19 people, the regional department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported. Debris clearing continues.

🔘 A new missile attack in the Dnepropetrovsk region – governor Valentin Reznichenko announced the destruction of the administrative building, a fuel depot, leaving 2 dead and 5 wounded.

🔘 The head of the self-proclaimed DPR, Denis Pushilin, ordered the creation of the administration of the city of Mariupol, which has been surrounded by Russian troops for more than a month and is constantly under fire.

“I decide to create a local administration of the Donetsk People’s Republic – the administration of the city of Mariupol”, the Donetsk News Agency quotes Pushilin’s decree.

🔘 The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine reported that since the beginning of the Russian invasion, 148 children have died, 232 children have been injured.

Video: Kadyrov fighters came under fire while posing for another video. One of them may have been wounded – UNIAN

In the world:

🔘 A “rail war” is ongoing in Belarus. Sabotage is being staged on the railway to prevent the movement of Russian military equipment and supply of troops to Ukraine.

🔘 Paris and Berlin refused to accept Russia’s demands to pay for gas supplies in rubles. This was stated by the head of the French Ministry of Finance Bruno Le Maire.

🔘 The cost of gas on the stock exchange in Europe against the backdrop of Putin’s statements has reached $1,395 per thousand cubic meters – RBC.

🔘 Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that the conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine are not yet ripe. This was stated by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who on March 30 spoke with Putin by phone.

“I expressed my conviction that a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been asking for this since the very beginning of the war, is needed to resolve the most important issues. And Putin replied that the time had not come yet”, the Italian prime minister said.

🔘 The US Treasury has included in the sanctions lists 13 Russians and 21 companies, which, according to the US authorities, including “associated with cyber activity”.

Photo: Rescuers are clearing the rubble of the destroyed Mykolaiv regional administration – UNIAN

In Russia:

🔘 Putin’s decree on paying for gas in rubles for deliveries to “unfriendly” countries applies only to Gazprom’s pipeline deliveries, RIA Novosti explains.

🔘 Russian students expelled from European universities will be able to continue their studies at Russian universities for free. The corresponding decree was signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Interfax reports.

🔘 A 73-year-old resident of the Tula region was attacked at the entrance because of 5 kg of sugar, the suspect was detained, the sugar was returned – RIA Novosti

🔘 The head of the Duma commission on foreign interference, Vasily Piskarev, asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to ban the extremist white-blue-white flag, which has become a symbol of the anti-war movement

Photo: Meduza compiled a list of anti-war slogans that were effectively banned in Russia. People who go out to pickets with placards for peace are detained and tried under articles on “discrediting” the Russian army or violating the rules for holding rallies

🔘 Zelensky signed a decree on recalling Ukrainian ambassadors from Morocco and Georgia:

“There are those who work together with everyone for the defense of the state, and there are those who waste their time and work only to stay in office. There will be no weapons, there will be no sanctions, there will be no restrictions on Russian business – look for another job”, the president said in a video message.

🔘 The referendum on the accession of South Ossetia to the Russian Federation will be held after the presidential elections, which are scheduled for April 10, 2022.

🔘 The speaker of the parliament of partially recognized Abkhazia, Kvarchia, said that the country does not plan to become part of Russia.

“Firstly, our Constitution, legislation do not allow it, and there are no such sentiments in society. We paid a heavy price for independence, this is the result of a long struggle of our people for several generations, so this issue is not discussed in our circles – neither political nor public. I do not know of such a political force in Abkhazia, parties or social movements that would proceed from such a possibility, from renunciation of independence. There are no such political forces” – Secretary of the Security Council Shamba.

Photo: One of the Ukrainian settlements – UNIAN

Situation in Ukraine: 

🔘 Russia is transferring part of the troops from the Kiyv and Chernihiv regions to the Donetsk and Kharkiv directions, says Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

🔘 A missile attack was also carried out on the Kharkov Tank School

🔘 As reported in the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovsk region, in the Dnieper, an enemy missile hit the tank farm. There were no deaths or injuries as a result of the incident.

🔘 It is also reported that in the city of Novomoskovsk, enemy missiles hit the territory of one of the factories. There are also no casualties.

🔘 Russian troops do not have full control over Izyum, Kharkiv region, fighting is ongoing south of the city. This was announced by the deputy mayor of the city Vladimir Matsokin. According to him, the humanitarian situation in Izyum is critical and fighting is taking place within the city.

“The whole world is talking about Mariupol. This is understandable and correct. But our situation is no better. For three and a half weeks, people are left without electricity, water, gas, heating. No connection, no medication. There are no humanitarian corridors. The hospital does not work – people die because of there is no way to provide them with medical assistance. It is terrible to see them buried in the park, at the entrances, in the gardens”, he added.

🔘 Negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations will resume on April 1 in an online format. According to David Arakhamia, in a week the delegations will develop a more coordinated draft agreement for a further meeting of the presidents of the countries.

Video: Ukrainian “Buk” air defense missile system launches a missile into a drone – Trukha

In the world:

🔘 Great Britain strengthened sanctions against Russia:

• The UK has banned maintenance on aircraft or ships owned by Russian oligarchs under sanctions or their businesses.
• New restrictions on aircraft maintenance were immediately applied to Russian businessmen Oleg Tinkov and Yevgeny Shvidler.
• The UK government extended the sanctions imposed against Crimea to the self-proclaimed DNR and LNR. This refers to the ban on financial transactions, as well as on trade and freight transportation with these regions.

🔘 Russian troops fighting in Ukraine have used prohibited  anti-personnel mines, Human Rights Watch reports. The newly developed POM-3 bombs, banned by international treaties, “are equipped with a seismic sensor to detect an approaching person and release an explosive charge into the air”, the report said.

🔘 Pentagon Speaker Kirby said the first 6 of “about 30” new shipments from the US have arrived in Ukraine. The US is prioritizing the supplies Ukrainians need most, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems, Kirby said, and the Switchblades promised to Ukraine will start shipping soon.

🔘 France sacks intelligence chief over misjudgment of Russian invasion of Ukraine realism. The scandal surrounding General Vido arose on the eve of March, when Chief of Staff General Thierry Burkhard admitted that French intelligence, unlike colleagues from the United States and Britain, considered a Russian invasion unlikely, writes Figaro, citing sources in the army.

🔘 The Chinese authorities do not exclude the possibility of switching to rubles or yuan in the course of energy trade with the Russian Federation. This was reported to TASS by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

🔘 According to the UN, 60% of all Ukrainian children were forced to leave their homes because of the war.

🔘 The European Commission is preparing new sanctions against Russia – their scale depends on Moscow’s position on payments for gas in rubles. It is reported by Reuters. A package of new sanctions could be ready as early as next week

🔘 Russia will accept payments for gas in dollars and euros, a spokesman for the German government said following a telephone conversation between Chancellor Scholz and Putin

🔘 Australia has introduced duties of 35% on all goods imported from Russia and Belarus, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced.

🔘 The UN reports that they managed to obtain evidence of the use of prohibited weapons by Russia in settlements at least 24 times. The organization is also investigating the facts of the possible use of prohibited weapons and ammunition by the Ukrainian side.

Photo: one of the destroyed Ukrainian cities – UNIAN

In Russia:

🔘 Russian State Duma deputy Vladislav Reznik proposed to classify all data about officials and deputies who fell under the sanctions, including family composition and official declarations. The fact is that, thanks to the sanctions lists, journalists discovered that Reznik’s son and wife have a residence permit in the United States and an apartment in Miami worth $3.8 million.

🔘 All contracts pegged to the dollar, euro, other currencies or global commodity indices may soon become illegal in Russia. Such agreements are used in commodity markets, real estate, banks and other areas.

🔘 Pussy Riot member Rita Flores was detained in Minsk and forced to make a video in support of Lukashenka. According to the activist, under the threat of physical violence and imprisonment for 15 years, she was required to say on camera that she supports Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Flores agreed to record a video about Lukashenka, after which she was photographed with the posters with the letter Z, she was then given her phone back and let go, on condition that she would leave the country and not come for 10 years.

Photo: destroyed Russian tank – InformNapalm

🔘 Volodymyr Zelensky on negotiations with Joe Biden:

“Just finished an hour-long conversation with President Biden. He shared his assessment of the situation on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. We talked about specific defense support, a new package of enhanced sanctions, macro-financial and humanitarian assistance”.

🔘 Zelensky also addressed Norwegian Parliament. He asked for the supply of weapons, in particular air defense systems and anti-ship missiles, new sanctions, assistance in providing Europe with energy resources and support for the idea of ​​​​closing Russian ports.

🔘 The Norwegian authorities have announced that they have sent 2,000 M72 anti-tank grenade launchers to Ukraine.

🔘 After the statements of the heads of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR about the desire to become part of Russia, the president of the partially recognized South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, made a similar proposal. His appeal was published by United Russia:

“I believe that unification with Russia is our strategic goal. Our way. The aspirations of the people. And we will move along this path. We will take appropriate legal steps in the near future”.

Russian media, citing parliament speaker Tadtaev, report that a referendum on South Ossetia’s accession to Russia will be held “in the near future”

Video: Ukrainian servicemen destroy a Russian tank from the Stugna ATGM — UNIAN

Situation in Ukraine: 

🔘 The Vostok Air Command of the Ukrainian Air Force claims that three Russian fighters and one drone were shot down in the Slobozhansky direction in a day.

🔘 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine accused Russia of planting “uncontrolled drifting ammunition” in the Black Sea, which floats into the territorial waters of other countries. The discovery of such mines has been reported in recent days in Romania and Turkey. Russian authorities say the mines were laid by Ukraine and some of them broke anchor during a storm.

🔘 “The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine notes a certain partial movement of individual units from the Kiev direction, as well as from the Chernihiv direction”, said the official representative of the department Oleksandr Motuzyanyk.

🔘 An oil depot in the Rivne region, shelled by Russian troops on Monday, was finally put out today.

🔘 Mayor of Irpin Alexander Markushin at a briefing on the situation in the city:

• It is still dangerous to return to the city, despite the liberation from Russian troops;
• Russian Armed Forces continue to shell the city;
• Markushin on war crimes of the armed forces of the Russian Federation: Russian military tanks crushed bodies of dead civilians;
• 16 members of the the territorial defense were killed, 29 were injured, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the data is being specified;
• The dead civilians are buried right in the yards.
• About 300 civilians were killed;
• The critical infrastructure of Irpin will be launched again only after the shelling stops and it is safe.

🔘 The number of victims of a missile attack on the Nikolaev Regional State Administration increased to 15 dead and 33 wounded

Photo: Destruction in Irpin – UNIAN

In the world:

🔘 The Russian-French company PowerJet, which produces power plants for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger aircraft, has stopped maintenance and repair of engines installed on Russian airliners due to sanctions.

🔘 Germany will soon supply Ukraine with arms worth 300 million euros. More than 200 types of military products will be sent, including drones, mortars, machine guns, armored SUVs, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Armored Mercedes of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov worth more than 600,000 euros confiscated in Italy

🔘 Germany and Austria have warned about the possibility of restrictions on gas consumption in the future.

🔘 CNN and NBC: in the US, they believe that Putin’s advisers do not tell him the truth because they are too afraid of him. This was reported to CNN and NBC News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Alexander, citing an unnamed US official.

🔘 Vladimir Putin held telephone conversations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Among other things, the parties agreed that Russian and German experts would hold additional negotiations on gas payments. Earlier, Russia demanded to switch to payments in rubles. The countries of the G7 and the European Union refused to comply with this demand of Russia.

🔘 The Danish furniture company JYSK announced its complete withdrawal from Russia.

🔘 France from April 1 resumes the issuance of visas of all categories to Russians, including tourist visas without the mandatory provision of a vaccination certificate.

🔘 The Russian Navy is blocking 94 civilian ships in the Black Sea region designed to transport grain and other food. This was stated at a meeting of the UN Security Council by US First Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

Photo: Ukrainian artillery firing – Stas Yurchenko

In Russia:

🔘 Annual inflation in Russia for the week from March 19 to March 25 accelerated to 15.69%, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation reported. A week earlier it was 14.53%.

🔘 The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that “a planned regrouping of Russian troops is taking place in the Kiev and Chernigov directions”.

🔘 Also, the Russian Defense Ministry commented on the topic of US biological laboratories in Ukraine, where biological weapons were allegedly developed. This time, the department, referring to some investigations by Western media, announced the connection of the laboratories with Hunter Biden, and the weapon itself was supposed to be used against Russia and Donbass.

🔘 Vladimir Putin banned the use of foreign software by government agencies and government customers on critical infrastructure. The corresponding decree was published on March 30.

🔘 Ramzan Kadyrov said that Vladimir Medinsky “made a mistake” when he announced a peace treaty with Ukraine. In the evening, his new video message appeared on social media of the head of Chechnya. Here is what Kadyrov said:

“We will not make any concessions, it is Mr. Medinsky who made a mistake. He used the wrong wording. You don’t have to worry. We have our own commander, the supreme commander, who looks 100 years ahead. And if you think that he will quit what he started just the way it is presented to us today, this is not true.

Earlier, Medinsky said that Moscow considered Kyiv’s written proposals a step forward and, in response, also took “two big reciprocal steps” – gradual military de-escalation in the Kiyv and Chernihiv directions and a meeting of the presidents of Russia and Ukraine with the simultaneous signing of a peace treaty. On the same day, Ramzan Kadyrov called for “completing what we started” and “taking back Kyiv”.

Video: Prominent Kremlin propagandist Solovyov was also infuriated by Medinsky’s statements about the results of the peace talks

🔘 The number of victims of a missile attack on the Mykolaiv OVA has increased to 14 people. The bodies of 13 dead were pulled from the rubble of the destroyed building, another victim died in intensive care, according to Ukrainian media.

🔘 The head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration Vyacheslav Chaus said that the promised decrease in the activity of Russian troops is not observed in the region:

The enemy demonstrated the “reduction” of activity in the Chernihiv region by the attacks on the city of Nizhyn, including air strikes, and shelling of the city of Chernihiv all night long. Civilian infrastructure facilities, libraries, shopping centers, many houses have been destroyed”, he said.

🔘 Ukraine demands from the UN Security Council to immediately take measures to demilitarize the  zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and deploy a special UN mission there.

🔘 A grocery warehouse burned down due to shelling near Kiyv. The area of ​​the fire reached 20,000 square meters, the prosecutor general’s office said.

🔘 This morning, Lisichansk was subjected to massive shelling by Russian troops.

“In the morning, Lisichansk shuddered from intense shelling by the Russian army. There is significant destruction of residential multi-storey buildings. People who were still sleeping at that moment fell under the rubble”, said Serhiy Gaidai, head of the Luhansk regional administration. According to Gaidai, rescuers rescued five people from the rubble and found one dead. Rescue work continues.

Video: Irpin after many days of fighting – UNIAN

In the world:

🔘 Poland plans to give up Russian oil by the end of the year, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced.

🔘 Russian invasion of Ukraine provoked a severe food shortage in the country and sets the stage for a global food crisis – U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

🔘 According to The Times, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to provide Ukraine with more lethal weapons as Vladimir Putin ‘could make things worse’.

🔘 Samsung removed “Z” from device names on the site in some European countries. “Z” has been the name of a series of foldable phones since the start of production in 2020. The official reason for the disappearance of the letter is not disclosed.

Photo: Children playing in the yard of a house damaged by shelling and fire in Kharkiv – UNIAN

In Russia:

🔘 Because of the inscription “No to war” on the rear window of the car, a Muscovite was issued a protocol on discrediting the Russian army. This is reported by the Russian magazine “Kholod”. According to Vera Bashmakova, she was detained at the kindergarten, from where she took her four-year-old daughter. As a result, she and her child had to spend several hours, first in the car, and then in the police department, until the police could properly complete all the documents:

“All the cops were very sympathetic to me, they explained that they are not like that, life is like that. They explained that the car got into orientation: someone took a picture of it and snitched it, and then they began to look for all the cameras where it drives there.

🔘 Denis Kortunov, public adviser to the governor of the Samara region, was fired from his post for a Facebook post “Zelensky Krutoy”.

Photo: Ukrainian media report that a volunteer unit was formed in Ukraine from former servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces who wish to fight for Ukraine – UNIAN

🔘 Zelensky’s latest video address:

“Signals that we hear from the negotiation platform can be called positive. But these signals do not drown out the explosions of Russian shells. Of course, we see all the risks. Of course, we see no reason to trust the words of the representatives of the state that continues to fight for our destruction. Ukrainians are not naive. Ukrainians have already learned both during these 34 days of the invasion, and over the past eight years of the war in Donbas, that one can only trust concrete results”.

Video: Fire in Kharkov after a missile attack

Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 At night, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia launched rocket attacks on Kiyv, Kharkiv and some other Ukrainian settlements. Number of victims has not yet been specified.

🔘 Ukraine and international partners are now working together on a security guarantees agreement. As noted in the Office of the President, the relevant work is ongoing jointly with the United States, Great Britain, China, Canada, France, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Israel

🔘 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: The withdrawal of Russian troops is probably a rotation of individual units and is intended to mislead the military leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and create a false opinion about Moscow’s refusal to encircle Kiyv

🔘 The General Staff also stated that Russia had transferred units to Ukraine from the occupied territories of Georgia: about 1,200 military from South Ossetia and 800 from Abkhazia

🔘 A draft law on a complete ban of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine has been submitted to the Rada. Among other provisions, it is proposed to nationalize all the property of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine

🔘 The losses of Ukraine’s infrastructure during the month of the war are estimated at $500 billion.

🔘 Due to the war, at least 100 foreign merchant ships remain blocked in Ukrainian ports. Their crews are already running out of food supplies. The UN calls on Russia to create safe sea passages for ships carrying more than 1,000 sailors.

🔘 According to the UN, due to the full-scale invasion of Russia, 3.9 million Ukrainians became refugees, another 6.5 million – IDPs

Photo: Mariupol destroyed by several days of battles depicted by Maxar satellite — UNIAN

In the world:

🔘 Gas flows from the Russian Federation to the EU via the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline have fallen to zero. Deliveries along the other two key pipeline routes remained broadly stable. — Reuters. The reasons for the drop in gas supplies are still unknown.

🔘 US prepares new sanctions targeting Russian military-industrial supply chains to undermine Moscow’s ability to attack Ukraine – Deputy Treasury Secretary Adeyemo

🔘 The exclusion of the Russian Federation from the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) would be a dangerous precedent, said the official representative of the UN Secretary General. Earlier, US senators suggested that the White House come up with such an initiative.

🔘 London confirmed its desire to become one of the guarantors of Ukraine’s security. British Representative to the UN Barbara Woodward

🔘 Russian assets worth 2.5 billion euros are frozen in Luxembourg

🔘 German chocolate manufacturer Ritter Sport will not stop deliveries of products to Russia

In Russia:

🔘 Russian Ambassador to the UN Nebenzya said that the world is facing a financial crisis of historic proportions due to sanctions and attempts to isolate Russia economically, financially and logistically.

🔘 Rossiya Airlines transferred all 125 aircraft to the Russian registry. Obtaining airworthiness certificates will allow the airline to continue using foreign-made aircraft under the Russian flag.

🔘 An analogue of Google Play will be launched in Russia. The service will be called NashStore, it will be adapted for Android and will start working in May

🔘 Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video in which he called on Putin to let the military finish what they started in Ukraine. Kadyrov said that “the fighting does not stop and will not stop until we destroy the Bandera people”.

“As the President says, so be it. But we are warriors and do not intend to retreat a single step, and we call on the leadership of the state in the person of the president to let us finish what we started”, says Kadyrov. According to him, “the guys are in no mood after the talks,” but, Kadyrov says, he urged them “not to worry,” because “we will not let these shaitans escape”.

Video: Kadyrov calls to continue the attack on Kyiv – the official channel of the head of Chechnya