Recently, ISIS militants made a video directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin. The video shows an ISIS militant inside a fighter jet that he claims is a Russian aircraft. In the background of the video someone speaking Russian mentions the fighter plane as “Russian technology”.
According to an article by Moscow Times, the filming took place at an airport that ISIS had taken over in a province in Syria. Conflict between Putin and ISIS is becoming more of a reality as ISIS gains more ground in Syria. Animosity towards Putin is believed to have started when Russia “seemingly shielded the Syrian regime through the course of the country's civil war,” according to Moscow Times.
In the footage a member of the Islamic State says, “We will with the consent of Allah free Chechnya and all of the Caucasus! The Islamic State is here and will stay here, and it will spread with the grace of Allah!” The militant later directs a statement at Putin saying, “Your throne has already been shaken, it is under threat and will fall with our arrival [in Russia].”
Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of the Chechen Republic, posted a photo on Instagram on Wednesday. In a long picture caption he describes the threat of the ISIS militants as “childish”. “I state with full responsibility that the one who had the idea to express a threat to Russia and say the name of the President of the country Vladimir Putin, will be destroyed.” Kadyrov continues to discredit the Islamic State as being ignorant of the Islamic faith and not being legitimate Muslims.
Regardless of Kadyrov’s response, ISIS’s capture of the airport is another victory against the Syrian military and the Islamic State continues to exercise its control over large areas. The release of this video, along with the publicized executions of two American journalists, is stirring up international attention.
