Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has boasted of using Ukrainian prisoners of war as human shields. He stated that among the captives there were casualties after a Ukrainian drone strike in Chechnya.
Vladimir Putin's Russian Special Forces University in the Chechen city of Gudermes was damaged by a drone attack in the early morning of October 29. This was the first drone strike against Russia's North Caucasus republic, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Kadyrov, who blamed Ukraine for the attack, initially said the building that was the target of the attack was empty and there were no casualties. However, he later claimed that Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed as a result of the attack.
Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack and has not commented on Kadyrov's claims.
"Up to 10 Ukrainian prisoners of war are being held at each strategic site in the Chechen Republic, including on the territory of the Russian Special Forces University," Kadyrov said on his Telegram channel.
The use of prisoners as human shields is prohibited by the Geneva Convention and is classified as a war crime.
"Kiev, trying to harm us, killed its own soldiers today," the dictator said, without providing evidence to support his claims.
A Ukrainian intelligence source said the drone strike was likely carried out by the neighboring republics of Dagestan or Ingushetia and may be linked to a feud between Kadyrov and officials from the two regions.
The Chechen leader said he had ordered all his commanders fighting against Ukraine to "take no prisoners and destroy" Ukrainian soldiers in retaliation.
Ukraine has documented more than 100 cases of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russia without trial and conviction since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Ombudsman Dmitry Lyubinets specified that the actual number is likely to be much higher as it is difficult to document the Russian military crimes without supporting evidence, such as video recordings of executions. | BGNES
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