“DWe are prisoners of war captured in Luhansk, Donetsk. […] If they remove the restrictions on my mother, my daughters, completely innocent people, […] Then we will hand over these people,” Kadyrov said, according to TASS, as quoted by the Riga-based anti-Kremlin Russian news portal Medusa.
The reports were published when American writer Scott Ritter visited the Chechen city of Grozny.
According to TASS, Kadyrov posted a video of Ukrainian soldiers to the former UN. He showed it to Ritter, a weapons inspector.
Kadyrov's family, the 20 soldiers will return home if the ban on planes and horses is lifted, the video said.
The independent publication Agenstvo pointed out that Kadyrov's proposal was condemned by some Russian “war correspondents” for trying to act “above the state”.
In September 2022, the United States announced sanctions against Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his participation in the invasion of Ukraine. Chechnya is one of the 22 republics of Russia.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged nearly 500 prisoners of war on Wednesday following a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Ukrainian officials indicated that 230 Ukrainian prisoners had returned home, while the Russian Defense Ministry said 248 of its military personnel had been “returned from areas controlled by the Kyiv regime.”
The Russian ministry said in a message on the social network Telegram that the agreement was made possible after “a complex negotiation process” and mediation efforts by the United Arab Emirates, Russia's main partner in the humanitarian, economic or energy sectors. .
“More than 200 of our soldiers and civilians have returned from Russian captivity,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
According to Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, exactly 230 Ukrainian military personnel were exchanged during this “49th exchange” between Kyiv and Moscow since the start of the Russian military invasion in February 2022.
In total, since February 24, 2022, “2,828 defenders have returned home. [ucranianos]”, Lubinets said today.
According to Ukrainian media, the previous exchange of prisoners of war took place last August.
Despite this new agreement, thousands of prisoners of war are still held in the two camps. In recent months, Moscow has stepped up measures to impose harsher sentences on Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The war in Ukraine, launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and militarize Ukraine for his country's security, has already resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. , but there has been no significant progress in recent months, with both belligerents remaining undeterred in their territorial positions and open to negotiating concessions.
Also read: Moscow priest sacked for speaking out against war
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