Ramzan Kadyrov, the ruler of the Russian region of Chechnya, has released a video of himself driving a Tesla Cybertruck mounted with some kind of machine gun and said he would send it to the conflict zone in Ukraine.

Kadyrov, known for his extravagant publicity stunts, praised both the car and Tesla owner Elon Musk in the messaging app Telegram, calling him the “strongest genius of modern times” and inviting him to Chechnya.

“We … expect your future products that will help us complete the special military operation,” Kadyrov wrote, using the official term Russia uses to describe its war in Ukraine. The phrase is abbreviated in Russian as SWO.

“Due to these excellent characteristics, the Cybertruck will soon be sent to the SWO area, where it will be retrieved under appropriate conditions. I am sure that this ‘beast’ will be of great use to our fighters.”

Mr Kadyrov subsequently invited Mr Musk to Russia, writing: “I literally fell in love with this car. Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I will receive you as my dearest guest! I do not think that our Russian Foreign Ministry would object to such a trip.”

“And of course we are waiting for your new developments, which will contribute to the completion of the SWO.”