Kremlin brands US sanctions against Chechen strongman 'illegal'

Moscow on Thursday branded US sanctions against Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov "illegal and unfriendly" after Washington accused the key Kremlin ally of involvement in murder and torture. On Wednesday, the US Treasury hit the Chechen leader with financial sanctions under the 2012 Magnitsky Act, accusing Kadyrov of personal involvement in repression, torture and extra-judicial killings. "We consider these sanctions to be illegal, we consider them unfriendly, we disagree with them," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.