Prosecutors of the Prosecutor General’s Office have submitted an indictment to the court against the head of the Chechen Republic, the agency reported.
The investigation established that he organized the invasion of units subordinate to the Russian National Guard, the Russian Interior Ministry in the Chechen Republic, and the Russian Defence Ministry into the territory of Ukraine to wage an aggressive war and seize Ukrainian territory. Under his instructions, these formations captured settlements, mistreated civilians and violated the laws and customs of war.
It was also established that the accused, having full political and administrative control in the Chechen Republic, organized the creation of new military units, their staffing, training and financing in order to continue the war of aggression against Ukraine.
On his personal Telegram channel, he repeatedly justified and glorified Russia’s armed aggression, the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territory, and Russian servicemen involved in these crimes.
The investigation also notes that after the Ukrainian Defence Forces struck a military facility in Gudermes on October 29, 2024, the accused ordered that Ukrainian servicemen not be taken prisoner. This decision was made in violation of international humanitarian law — out of revenge and with the aim of intimidating the Ukrainian army.
Furthermore, investigators found that from October 2022 to May 2025, fully aware of the risk of Ukrainian strikes on military facilities in the Chechen Republic, he organized the detention of at least 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war at locations of Russian security units. The prisoners were used as “human shields” to protect military facilities from attacks. Such actions constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute of the ICC.
His actions have been classified under Part 3 of Article 110, Part 3 of Article 436-2, Part 2 of Article 437, and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine; justification and glorification of Russia’s armed aggression; the crime of aggression; and war crimes.