Kadyrov is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Asked this week about reports that Kadyrov, 46, was being treated in a Moscow hospital, the Kremlin said he had no information about the matter.

But a video posted by Kadyrov's Telegram channel showed him sitting at the edge of a man's bed said to be "dear uncle Magomid Abdulhamedovich Kadyrov" kissing the man's hand and head. It was not clear when the clip was filmed.

A post said to have been written by Kadyrov himself, it read: "Thank God, I am alive and well and I do not understand at all why there is a commotion even if I am sick."

Spokesmen for the Chechen president did not respond to repeated calls earlier in the week seeking comment on reports of his illness.