Kadyrov claims Ukrainian POWs used as human shields at military sites in Chechnya

The leader of the Russian region of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced that up to 10 Ukrainian prisoners of war are being held at each strategic facility in Chechnya, including at the recently attacked Special Forces University named after Vladimir Putin. The statement came after a Ukrainian drone strike on the university building in Gudermes on 29 October, causing a fire on the building’s roof.

Kadyrov’s forces actively participate in Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine and many Russian troops are trained at the Putin-named university. This attack continues a pattern of intensified Ukraine’s drone strikes that target Russian military infrastructure like airfields and fuel depots, especially amid Western long-range weapons restrictions inside Russia.

Kadyrov claimed that while there were no Russian casualties, there were injuries among Ukrainian prisoners. 

“Kyiv has harmed its own soldiers today,” he wrote on Telegram. However, his claim cannot be independently verified.

Ukrainian special services confirmed conducting the attack, indicating the drones may have been launched from neighboring Dagestan or Ingushetia. 

This marks the first reported drone attack on Chechen territory.

The targeted facility, established in 2013 as an International Training Center for Special Forces, was renamed the Russian University of Special Forces in 2017. In February 2024, it received Putin’s name.

The use of prisoners of war as human shields, which Kadyrov’s statement appears to acknowledge, violates the 1929 Geneva Convention. Ukraine has not yet responded to these claims.

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