Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Wednesday accused Pope Francis of being a “victim of propaganda” after the Supreme Pontiff called minority Russian soldiers fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine “cruel”, AFP reported, according to to on News.ro.

In an interview with the American Jesuit magazine America, published on the website on Monday, the Pope said that he has “a lot of information about the brutality of Russian troops” arriving in Ukraine.

“The most cruel are probably those who come from Russia, but who (are) not of the Russian tradition, such as Chechens, Buretians,” said Francis.

Chechnya is a Muslim-majority republic in the Russian Caucasus, and Buryatia, a Buddhist region in Siberia, lies between Lake Baikal and Mongolia.

“The Pope presented Chechens and Smurfs as the most brutal in the Russian army,” Chechen authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov chided him on Wednesday.

“How can you tell just by looking what ethnicity this Russian soldier from this unit is when there are more than 190 nationalities living in our country?” Ramzan Kadyrov asked in a statement posted on Telegram.

Kadyrov reminded Pope Francis about “crusades” and “inquisition”

“Of course, the head of the Vatican will not be able to answer this question. He simply fell victim to the propaganda and stubbornness of foreign media,” Kadyrov believes.

He rebuked Pope Francis for violent episodes in the history of the Catholic Church, such as the “inquisition” and the “crusades”.

Among the Chechens, “there are no alcoholics or drug addicts, they are all very religious,” Kadyrov assures.

He declares that his troops systematically offer the Ukrainian military to surrender before the battle.

“It is a shame that a world-renowned religious figure knows nothing about the attitude of Muslims to their enemies,” laments the authoritarian leader of Chechnya.