The leader of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, has offered to release 20 Ukrainian prisoners of war if Western sanctions against his family members are lifted.
– My mother, wife, daughters and nephews are not guilty. They never participated in political games. They didn't say a word. I fought, I will fight – Russian state agency TASS quotes Kadyrov's words.
– Hit me all you want, but leave the family, my mother. If the lives of these people are important to them, let the soldiers be exchanged for the lifting of sanctions, he appealed.
According to media reports, supporters Military actions of Vladimir Putin Ramzan Kadyrov allegedly gave the list of prisoners of war to Scott Ritter, a former US intelligence officer accused of supporting Russia. Ritter contributed to the Kremlin's narrative that “the West controls Ukraine and uses it for its own purposes.” He declared that “journalism is dead in the US” and that he himself does not believe what the Western media is saying about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, the former military expert claimed that “Russia does not want war and only responds to American provocations.”
The Chechen side also showed a video in which men in Ukrainian armed forces uniforms – believed to be Ukrainian prisoners of war – are asking for the lifting of “absurd, ineffective” sanctions imposed on Kadyrov's young relatives, his horses and the planes he uses.
Is Russia trying to curry favor with Muslims?
The position of the Islamic world regarding Russia's war in Ukraine is very ambiguous, and many Muslims de facto support Russia. For this purpose, the occupying authorities of Crimea agreed to build a new large mosque in Simferopol, reports AsiaNews.
Vladimir Rozansky notes that Russia benefits from participation in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OWI), which it has joined as an observer since 2005, which guarantees Moscow a favorable approach to Muslims as one of its allies in confronting the West. . He recalls that Vladimir Putin assured last May at KazanForum 2023 that “Russia is open to the widest and most productive trade and humanitarian cooperation with Islamic countries, and also emphasizes the role of Russian Muslims in expanding international contacts to jointly create a multipolar and fairer world order.” .
According to Tamila Tasheva, the Ukrainian president's representative in Crimea, the Islamists are not worried about Russia's occupation of Crimea, despite the historical presence of indigenous Muslim peoples, such as Sunni Tatars and other Turkic groups. Russian propaganda is supported by many Muslim political and religious leaders, notably Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who is shown praying in Arabic while holding a gun.
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