There may be over 150 Ukrainian military prisoners held in the Chechen Republic, 36 of whom are classified as "missing persons," but the likelihood of their presence in Grozny is very high.
This was reported by Radio Liberty, citing the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has not confirmed the presence of Ukrainian prisoners in Chechnya, and the Coordination Headquarters is unaware of any visits to Ukrainian prisoners in this Russian republic by the humanitarian organization.
As noted by the headquarters, military personnel of the Defense Forces usually fall into captivity from various parts of the front, but later they may be transferred to places of detention within Chechnya.
"As in other places of detention in the aggressor country and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the norms of humanitarian law and the requirements of the Third Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war are not followed. The Kadyrov regime uses prisoners, including as 'human shields' for military targets, as well as a leverage to lift sanctions on members of the Kadyrov family," stated the Coordination Headquarters.
No official proposals for exchanges have been received from the Chechen authorities. Ukraine has forwarded all information about the prisoners to the ICRC, but the Red Cross is unable to carry out activities in Chechnya.
Chechen paramilitary groups purchase Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russian military units on the "black market" for further trafficking.
In early December 2024, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video of a meeting with Ukrainian prisoners of war and threatened to use them as human shields against drones attacking the republic.
