"Kadyrovts" is profitable: Russians trade Ukrainian prisoners of war - The Times

Yatsenko said that Chechen paramilitary groups actively buy captive Ukrainians from other Russian military units. "There have been cases when they bought our wounded in the Russian army, then transported them to the Grozny, the Chechnya capital, and exchanged for their own," he said.

Although the Geneva Convention does not have a clear prohibition on the trade of prisoners of war, such actions are likely to contradict the treaty, which generally states that "no special agreement should adversely affect the situation of prisoners of war," British journalists say. It is believed that more than 10,000 "Cadirov", who are faithful to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadirov, visited Ukraine.

At the beginning of the war, they participated in the battles in the Mariupol, Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, but over time, their participation in the protection and logistics operations in the places remote from the front. Therefore, as they point out, they now have fewer opportunities to capture the enemy's soldiers on their own, which can explain why they resort to the purchase of captured Ukrainians, who can then be exchanged for Chechens who are in Ukrainian camps for prisoners of war.

An example of such an exchange is the case of 41-year-old Vyacheslav Levitsky, who was captured by militias of the Donetsk People's Republic in February 2023, and then sold to the Chechen. He was injured in both legs and abdomen during a plaque in his position in forests north of Avdiivka of Donetsk region. After a few days in captivity, he was taken to Chechen position and then to the Grozny. There he was amputated both legs and hands, and also tortured.

It was released in June 2023 as part of the exchange for Ukrainian prisoners. The publication notes that more than 2,700 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been returned today, although the exact number of Russians in Ukrainian captivity has been returned. It is believed that more than 4,000 Ukrainian servicemen are still in Russian captivity. "More than 90 percent of prisoners of war, whom we interviewed after their return, say that they were tortured, deprived of sufficient food and sleep.

People are forced to burn tattoos or use only Russian propaganda. They are not allowed to communicate with relatives," Yatsenko said. We will remind, on March 3, the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation Tatiana Moskalkova stated that the bodies of Ukrainian military who allegedly died during the fall of IL-76 near Belgorod can be transferred to Ukraine in the near future.