Human rights defenders assess risks of forced sending of Chechen residents to Ukraine

Forced sending of public sector employees from Chechnya to Ukraine to participate in the special military operation is quite possible if the Kremlin demands, and those who refuse to go to Ukraine will risk being dismissed from work, human rights defenders suggest.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Ramzan Kadyrov regularly reports about sending detachments of volunteers to Ukraine. Instagram* users suggest that people are attracted by the promise of large remunerations or sent under pressure. The Chechen human rights association “Vayfond” reported about dozens of messages from residents of Chechnya asking for help to leave Russia in order to avoid being sent to Ukraine.

Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, has confirmed that he knows cases when residents of Chechnya, working for the law enforcement bodies, were forcibly sent to participate in the special military operation.

According to Ruslan Kutaev’s story, he is not aware of cases of forced sending to Ukraine of public sector employees with “civilian specialties,” but he does not rule out such a possibility.

Ruslan Kutaev adds that residents of Chechnya may face difficulties if they refuse to participate in the special military operation. “They will be pressured in various ways: dismissal from work, dismissal of all relatives, kidnappings, and threats,” Ruslan Kutaev said.

Human rights defender Oyub Titiev also does not rule out the possibility of forced sending of residents of Chechnya to Ukraine, but so far, according to him, he is not aware of such cases.

“If they go to Ukraine, then they may face death there. And if they refuse, then they will face, for example, dismissal from work, pressure on their families,” the human rights defender noted.

* On March 21, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.