Ukrainian prisoners held in Chechnya have returned home.

State Duma Deputy from Chechnya Shamsail Saraliev announced the latest prisoner of war exchange between Russia and Ukraine, specially thanking Ramzan Kadyrov.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on March 5 and 6, Russia and Ukraine conducted a 500-for-500 prisoner of war exchange. A month earlier, on February 5, 157 military personnel and three civilians were returned to Russia during the first exchange of 2026.

Chechen State Duma Deputy Shamsail Saraliev reported on the latest prisoner of war exchange between Russia and Ukraine, specifically thanking Ramzan Kadyrov.

During today's exchange, 193 servicemen from various regions returned to Russia from Ukrainian captivity, and 193 Ukrainian prisoners were returned to Ukraine, Shamsail Saraliev reported on his Telegram channel.

He specifically noted that the Ukrainian participants in the exchange were captured by fighters from the Akhmat unit. In this regard, the deputy expressed "sincere gratitude" to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the Akhmat special forces, as well as the Ministry of Defense. Russia.

The Ukrainian prisoners who were returned to their homeland today were held in Chechnya, according to Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament's Commissioner for Human Rights.

"The capture of 192 of the 193 Ukrainians was not confirmed through the International Committee of the Red Cross, and information about them was obtained through other sources. “One of those who returned home was considered missing in action,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Lubinets noted that the freed Ukrainians are exhausted and require treatment and psychological support due to their experiences in captivity. The oldest of them is 59 years old, the youngest is 23.

Captured Ukrainians in Chechnya

Shamsail Saraliev stated back in October 2025 that hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war captured by "Akhmat" were being held in Chechnya, noting that there were preconditions for their return to their homeland. Analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" then indicated that they were unable to obtain reliable data on the Ukrainians held in Chechnya. href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416374">failed. Human rights activists noted that prisoners in the Russian Federation are held in inhumane conditions, regularly subjected to beatings, torture, humiliating treatment, and psychological pressure.

Back in 2024, Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that in Chechnya, "up to 10 Ukrainian prisoners are being held at each strategic facility," who are used as "human shields" and hostages. On October 29, 2024, when a drone attack caught fire in a building on the grounds of the Russian Special Forces University (RUS) in Gudermes, Kadyrov stated that Ukrainian prisoners had been killed there.

In January 2024, Kadyrov href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/395974">offered the release of 20 Ukrainian soldiers in exchange for lifting sanctions on his family, horses, and planes, but after criticism from z-bloggers, he called these words "heavy trolling."

On January 29, Kadyrov participated in talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. In the Kremlin, Ramzan Kadyrov spoke about the negotiations with the Ukrainian side on ending the special military operation. He expressed a desire to bring it "to the end." "Negotiations after everything that has been done... I am against negotiations," Kadyrov said.