Putin's Close Ally Terminally Ill? Chechnya's Kadyrov Denies Being 'Incurably' Sick

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's southern Chechnya region, insisted he was "healthy" after he was spotted wearing what was believed to be a blood oxygen meter earlier this week and was rumored to be suffering from kidney problems.

"[F]or those who console themselves with the hope that I am incurably ill, I am sorry to upset you. But I am healthy and full of energy," a machine translation of his Wednesday Telegram post read.

The 46-year-old, a known ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, added that he has been doing sports and mountain hiking.

Kadyrov's statement comes after he was seen wearing a device on his finger during a meeting with Putin Monday.

The Chechen leader appeared puffy, used awkward speech, and had to read notecards with extra large font at the time, the Financial Times reported.

Kadyrov's statement was also issued after the German tabloid newspaper Bild published a piece earlier this month that claimed Kadyrov had a kidney problem and had to hire a doctor from the United Arab Emirates as he did not trust doctors in Moscow.

In his Telegram post, Kadyrov claimed that the device he was wearing during his meeting with Putin, which reportedly resembled a pulse oximeter, or a tool that is used to measure oxygen saturation levels in blood, was actually an "electric prayer counter."

"I read salawats in honor of our beloved prophet Muhammad. The counter lets me see how many times I've read them. That's the whole secret," Kadyrov said, referring to Arabic phrases that are recited as Muslim prayers.

There has reportedly been speculation over Kadyrov's future after his eldest son, Akhmat Kadyrov, also met with Putin earlier this month.

While the Russian presidential press office did not publicize the meeting, photos of the encounter surfaced and drew comparisons to Ramzan's own emergence following the assassination of his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, the first president of the Chechen Republic, in 2004.

Ramzan has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and forces under his paramilitary organization, the 141st Special Motorized Regiment, also known as the Kadyrovites, have already been deployed to the conflict supposedly with the goal of killing Ukrainian leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.