Wearing either a military helmet or jaunty beret, Chechen commander Apti Alaudinov provides Russians with frequent upbeat bulletins on their forces' progress against Ukraine's incursion in the Kursk region.
"Let's all calm down, grab some popcorn and calmly watch as our guys destroy the enemy," he said on the first day of the offensive, becoming one of the first military personnel to comment on it.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Surprised by the Kursk incursion last month and unable to expel Ukrainian troops, Russia's top brass rarely mention it in public.
Filling this gap is Alaudinov, apparently speaking from the combat zone.
He posts social media videos filmed on a phone, often while riding in a car or against a backdrop of camouflage netting.
Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov has sent large numbers of volunteers to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine while Alaudinov commands a special forces unit named Akhmat after Kadyrov's father.
In the early days of Ukraine's Kursk incursion, Alaudinov became noted for his relentlessly positive assessments.
"Nothing critical has happened", "the situation is already basically stabilising", "the enemy is already in principle stopped," he said in successive videos, even as Ukraine advanced.
The pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel Nexta called Alaudinov "the main meme of the Kursk front" and "the military expert whose forecasts never come true".
Recently, the Major General predicted the entire Ukraine war would end in two or three months.
What’s Behind Ukraine’s Surprise Comeback?
"It's an astonishing story," journalist Tikhon Dzyadko from independent TV Rain wrote on Telegram.
"Part of Russia is under the control of another state and the main commentator for what's happening in the Kursk region is that peculiar character Alaudinov."
Such media presence must have been approved at the highest level, experts told AFP.
"I definitely think that this is being directed from the Kremlin," said Sarah Oates, a professor at the University of Maryland, who researches Russian disinformation and propaganda.
- 'Outrageous, folksy statements' -
Moscow-based political analyst Georgy Bovt said: "So far, evidently he suits the leadership: the defence ministry and the country's political leadership".
Like Kadyrov, Alaudinov appears to have permission to go beyond normal limits for officials.
When parents voiced concerns that 18-year-old conscripts were fighting, Alaudinov expressed no sympathy.
"What does your country need you and your children for?" he asked in a video.
"If you die defending your Motherland you will go to Paradise."
Russia has repeatedly promised not to send conscripts to the frontline in Ukraine.
His dispatches are a far cry from defence ministry spokesman, General Igor Konashenkov, who reads out lists of battle statistics.
Alaudinov "presents this information more emotionally, and probably the public finds it easier to absorb", Bovt said.
For Oates, Alaudinov's "outrageous, folksy statements" are reminiscent of President Vladimir Putin in his early years when he promised to wipe out militants "in the outhouse".
"I think (Alaudinov) is a fairly effective mouthpiece for propaganda," she said.
With 275,000 subscribers on Telegram, Alaudinov's social media following is quite modest.
But the videos he posts are widely picked up by television and online media, amid a dearth of official sources.
- 'Powerful, dangerous' -
Alaudinov, an ethnic Chechen, grew up in southern Russia's Stavropol region. His father and a brother were killed in Chechnya fighting on the side of federal forces, according to Russian media.
He later served in Chechnya as head of police and deputy interior minister.
The US and other countries have added him to sanctions lists over rights abuses including kidnapping and torture.
Novaya Gazeta independent newspaper wrote in 2016 that he "for many years was part of Kadyrov's closest entourage and was considered a powerful, dangerous and very infamous person".
He was dismissed from the Chechen government by Putin in 2021, with some suggesting he and Kadyrov had fallen out.
But, after Russian troops entered Ukraine, Kadyrov announced in March 2022 that his "dear brother" was leading 1,000 volunteer fighters from Chechnya.
Later that year Alaudinov was decorated with the Hero of Russia medal.
In April he was appointed deputy head of the defence ministry's department for "military-political work".
He continued to command Akhmat, part of Russia's national guard.
Some have called Akhmat a "TikTok army", suggesting they overly prioritise social media.
The force was helping guard the Kursk region's border when Ukraine entered.
In an unusually glum video, Alaudinov admitted the Ukrainians slipped between their positions.
"They did a good job", he said.
"The only thing they didn't take into account is that God loves Russia."
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
