“About 10,000 of our brave sons are already fighting on… frontiers in the NVO zone,” TASS quotes him as saying at a solemn formation of the region’s law enforcement officers on the territory of a military unit in Grozny in honor of the 70th anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kadyrov added that at present, additional special regiments are being prepared in the region to be sent to the special operation zone.

Earlier, the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, announced that Kadyrov had been awarded the star of the Hero of the DPR, which is the republic's highest award.