Mufti's talk with POWs in Ukraine angers Kadyrov

The prisoners of war (POWs) from Chechnya, who talked with the Mufti in Ukraine, should punish the Mufti after their release, Ramzan Kadyrov has stated. Kadyrov's anger was caused by the Mufti's questions about why the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine is called jihad in Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Chechen authorities and religious figures had repeatedly treated the SMO as jihad, urging Muslims to go to it. Thus, in October, Kadyrov declared jihad against "satanic democracy."

The head of Chechnya threatened the Mufti, Aider Rustemov, with persecution, since his talk to the POWs from Chechnya was posted online.

The video of the Mufti's conversation with POWs was posted by the Ukrainian blogger, Vladimir Zolkin, in his YouTube channel. He stated that the meeting was attended by five Chechens, two Muslim "Rosgvardiya" (Russian National Guard) fighters and a Muslim from the "Vagner" Private Military Company (PMC), who were taken POWs.

If one of the POWs "says an extra word," this may affect him after returning to Chechnya, one of the men said at the meeting. "They know that they came here as slaves, they were forced to. Maybe someone came at will, but most had been forced to," he has stated.

In his turn, Ramzan Kadyrov stated on December 29, 2022, that all the SMO participants from Chechnya had left there voluntarily.

On July 28, 2022, contractors' relatives told the "Caucasian Knot" that a native of a Chechen village was sent again to Ukraine against his will.