Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov claimed on Nov. 2 that he had revoked the order to his troops not to capture Ukrainian soldiers.
After the first drone strike against Russia's North Caucasus republic that targeted the Russian Special Forces University of Vladimir Putin in the Chechen city of Gudermes on Oct. 29, Kadyrov said he ordered all of his commanders fighting against Ukraine "not to take prisoners," and instead kill all surrendering Ukrainian soldiers as retribution.
In his recent Telegram post, Kadyrov claimed that received "more than 2,000 letters from Ukrainians" asking to cancel his order. He did not provide any proof to back his allegations.
Kadyrov had earlier claimed there were casualties among the captives after a drone strike on Chechnya that Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) were killed as a result of the drone strike on the military university.
Kyiv did not claim responsibility for the attack, also declining to comment on Kadyrov's claims.
A Ukrainian intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 29 that the drone strike was possibly launched from the neighboring republics of Dagestan or Ingushetia and may have been connected to a feud between Kadyrov and officials from the two regions.
Ukraine has documented over 100 cases of Russia summarily executing Ukrainian POWs since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets clarified that the actual number is likely much higher since it is difficult to document Russian war crimes without supporting evidence, such as videos of the executions.
Katie Marie Davies
(Updated: )
