Ukraine’s security services (SBU) have launched a search and arrest request for Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who is considered one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strongmen.
In August, Ukrainian authorities accused Kadyrov of waging an “aggressive war” and “taking deliberate actions to change the borders of Ukraine’s territory”.
Now Ukraine’s security services have updated their database and added a photo of the Chechen leader, who claimed to have hid from authorities during the preliminary investigation.”
If Kadyrov is caught and tried under Ukrainian law, he could be sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.
Kadyrov – considered one of the Russian president’s strongmen – is an ardent supporter of the war in Ukraine and sends many of his war patrols, as well as patrols from his family, to the front lines of the battle.
Other Russian representatives and officials are also on the wanted list, such as Security Service director Alexander Bortnikov; the head of the National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, or the Interior Minister, Vladimir Kolokoltsev.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24 has already led to the flight of more than 13 million people – more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million to European countries -, according to the latest data of the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 6,557 civilian deaths and 10,074 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, emphasizing that these numbers are far below the real ones.
Source: DN
