If Putin really did say this, he is in deep trouble.
Jumped the shark on this one. Everyone is wrong. God be sovereign and help us..........
The walls are closing in.
Look, the Johnson government has been rabidly anti-Russian, and the tabloid press has been a “team player” for the Johnson government. The tabloids are seldom reliable, in any event. In this case, the moment the article began balthering about “heavy Russian losses” it was clear the article wasn’t to be taken seriously. Russia is overwhelmingly Orthodox. Putin is not going to run around waiving a scimitar screaming “Jihad”. All of Chechniya has a population of 1.2. million. It isn’t a major constituent of the Russian Federation, although Putin and Medvedev have tried to maintain good relations with the Chechens since the Chechen terror campaign of some years ago was put down. If you want reasonably accurate information, in fact probably too detailed information, try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhM4oZXnMdc
No he did not say this. The headline is incorrect. Nowhere in the article is there a quote of Putin saying Russia is fighting for Islam.
“If Putin really did say this, he is in deep trouble.”
The article is devoid of quotes from Putin.
There’s not even a first person account of him saying it.