Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov has said that Yemen’s Houthis should have targeted US military bases in the Middle East rather than civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia. He made the statement on his Telegram channel on Tuesday, commenting on attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Fourteen civilians were killed and more than 300 people were injured in Houthi attacks on the airport on Tuesday and Sunday. Among the casualties were pilgrims travelling to Mecca.
‘Deliberate missile strikes on civilian facilities cannot be justified by any arguments. They make no sense, either politically or religiously’, Kadyrov wrote.
He suggested that the attacks might have been a response to the military operation by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. In that case, the Chechen leader said, the Houthis should have chosen different targets.
‘It would have been more logical to direct their strikes at the relevant facilities. Take, for example, the American bases located throughout the region’, Kadyrov said. He added that attacks on civilians demonstrated neither courage nor strength.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the missile attack on Riyadh International Airport. On Monday, the ministry issued a statement calling on the parties to the conflict on the Arabian Peninsula to refrain from strikes on civilian infrastructure. It also expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
According to preliminary information from the Russian Embassy in Saudi Arabia, no Russian nationals were among the casualties.
In March 2026, following the start of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran, Kadyrov had already expressed support for strikes on US military facilities in the Middle East. He described Iran’s retaliatory attacks on American bases as an ‘expected response to the enemy’, while also condemning strikes on civilian infrastructure in Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. According to Kadyrov, the US and Israel had deliberately provoked Iran into retaliatory action that drew other countries in the region into the conflict.
On 8 April, Kadyrov commented on reports that Chechen units were prepared to deploy to Iran in the event of a possible US ground offensive. He said such a deployment could take place if Iran were fighting only the US and Israel. However, Tehran had also been striking Arab states, whose leaders Kadyrov described as his ‘brothers’.
‘Without a doubt, I support Iran’s side, with one “but”: I do not support Iranian strikes on civilian facilities and civilian infrastructure in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf’, Kadyrov wrote.
He stressed that he maintained relations with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
Russian officials have also condemned US and Israeli strikes on Iran while opposing attacks on Arab states.
In early March, President Vladimir Putin offered to use Moscow’s relations with Tehran to help de-escalate the conflict during telephone conversations with leaders of Persian Gulf countries. Following a conversation with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Kremlin said Putin was prepared to convey the Emirates’ concerns over strikes on its territory to the Iranian leadership. The Russian president also called for a ceasefire and a return to diplomatic negotiations.
On 11 March, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said Moscow considered strikes on the territory of Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, particularly attacks on civilian infrastructure, unacceptable. However, he stressed that the situation could not be considered as a separate issue to what he described as ‘aggression’ by the US and Israel against Iran. Russia abstained from voting on a Bahraini draft resolution condemning Iranian strikes on countries in the region.