Putin makes a surprise trip to Chechnya 3 weeks into Ukraine’s cross-border incursion

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has made an unscheduled visit to Chechnya, his first trip to the mainly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation in nearly 13 years. Putin was greeted by Chechnya’s self-styled strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov, before meeting volunteer fighters who train there prior to being deployed in Ukraine. Neither the Kremlin nor Kadyrov shared any details about the purpose and timing of Putin’s trip. Earlier that day, the Russian leader met for the first time in nearly two decades with mothers of children killed in a 2004 terrorist attack in southern Russia.