Kadyrov offers US to lift sanctions on his relatives in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has offered to release captured Ukrainian soldiers in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against his family members and his horses. He said this during a meeting of law enforcement officials in Grozny, where Scott Ritter, a former American intelligence officer and former UN inspector to monitor the elimination of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, arrived.

"We have prisoners we took from Donetsk and Luhansk ["people's republics"]. I am handing over a list [of prisoners of war] to our guest. If they lift the sanctions against my mother, my daughters, innocent people, horses, except for me, we will give these people back," Kadyrov said.

Ritter was also shown a video with captured Ukrainians. In the video, the prisoners say that they have been offered the release of 20 prisoners on the condition that sanctions against Kadyrov's relatives, his airplanes and horses are lifted.

"If you fulfill these conditions, then 20 Ukrainian soldiers will return to their homes," one of the prisoners of war says in the video.

On August 24, the United States imposed sanctions on the mother of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Aiman Kadyrova. After that, Kadyrov published a video message and a text message on his Telegram channel, in which he stated that his mother "is engaged in charitable activities only", which "the whole world knows", and also threatened to "not forgive" the United States and "go to any lengths" if sanctions against Aiman Kadyrova are not lifted.

On September 15, 2022, the United States imposed sanctions against Kadyrov himself, as well as his three wives and three daughters, over the war in Ukraine. The US authorities called Kadyrov a "brutal warlord" associated with torture and murder. The Treasury Department also noted that he was involved in the mobilization of Chechens for the war in Ukraine, and that Chechen units were operating in Bucha.