Over 150 Ukrainian soldiers may be held captive in Russia’s Chechnya, Radio Liberty says
Pravda Ukraine
Over 150 Ukrainian soldiers may be held captive in Chechnya, with a high likelihood that they are in the city of Grozny. [The Chechen Republic, also known as Chechnya, is a federal subject of the Russian Federation; the Ukrainian parliament has recognised it as the temporarily Russian-occupied territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – ed.]
Source: Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian Service, citing Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Quote from the Headquarters: “POWs could be transferred to places of detention on the territory of Chechnya, where, as in other places of captivity, humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention are violated. [Ramzan] Kadyrov’s regime uses them as a human shield for military facilities and a lever to lift sanctions against his family.”
Details: Radio Liberty reports that the International Committee of the Red Cross cannot confirm that Ukrainians are being held captive in Chechnya. The Coordination Centre is also unaware of any visits by the humanitarian organisation to Ukrainian prisoners in Chechnya.
Even if the Red Cross receives all the necessary information about Ukrainian prisoners of war in Chechnya, it will not be able to assist in the exchange as it does not have access to the territory.
Background:
- On 30 October 2024, Kadyrov stated that he had ordered the commanders of Akhmat, a Chechen armed formation fighting on Russia’s side, to cease taking Ukrainian troops prisoner.
- However, on 2 November, Kadyrov noted that he had rescinded his order to Akhmat fighters not to take Ukrainian soldiers prisoner.
- In December 2024, Kadyrov supposedly visited Ukrainian POWs and threatened to use them as human shields against drones attacking Chechnya.
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