According to a recent report, Russian forces are running a ‘black market’ to sell Ukrainian prisoners of war. Accordingly, the captured soldiers in Kiev end up in the hands of Chechen units in exchange for money.
The American think tank ‘Institute of the Study of War’ (ISW) reports this in its current situation report. The Ukrainian spokesman for the Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Petro Yatsenko, explained in the British “Times” that Chechen paramilitary groups buy Ukrainian prisoners of war from other Russian military units in order to exchange them for Chechen prisoners. of the war in Ukraine.
Chechens gratefully accept prisoners
The report further says that the Chechen fighters led by Ramzan Kadyrov, despite their martial attitude, are mainly active in the rear area of the front in a logistics function and as military police. They therefore have few options to arrest Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The fact that the relatively independent Chechens are apparently exchanging their own prisoners indicates that they are not participating in the internationally negotiated Ukrainian-Russian agreements.
“There were cases when they bought our wounded from the Russian army, took them to Grozny and then exchanged them for their own,” Yatsenko continued.
Kadyrov’s ‘TikTok Troop’ is hardly deployed at the front
As the Times reports, there appears to be no article in the Geneva Convention that rules out such trade. However, such a practice is likely to violate a clause stating that no agreement may affect the situation of prisoners of war.
In the past, Russian war bloggers had accused Chechnya units of incompetence and lack of commitment. For example, they were often ridiculed as the ‘TikTok troops’ due to their dubious PR campaigns on the alleged front.
After the heavy fighting around Mariupol, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in 2022, the fighters of the Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov usually operate in the rear areas; only a few are actually deployed in an active sector of the front.
The explosive treatment of prisoners of war
According to the Times, about 2,700 Ukrainian prisoners have been released as a result of exchange measures. In return, it is not entirely clear how many Russians have been released by Kiev. It is estimated that upwards of 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers are still under Kremlin control.
Recently, the case of seven affected people made headlines: according to information from Kiev, the soldiers were literally executed “with their hands raised.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
