The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, voiced his proposal at a meeting in Grozny with American military expert and journalist Scott Ritter. He asked the United States to lift sanctions against his relatives and in exchange offered to release Ukrainian prisoners of war.

“We have an interesting offer for our guest. We have prisoners whom we took in Donetsk and Lugansk. I am passing the list to our guest... If they lift the sanctions from my mother, from my daughters and innocent people, horses... except me, and add a little more sanctions against me, then we will hand over these people,” Kadyrov said.

According to media reports, Ritter was shown a video message from prisoners of war who asked to lift the “absurd sanctions that have no effect on anything” against Kadyrov’s relatives, his horses and the plane.

Former Marine and US Army intelligence officer Scott Ritter was also given a tour of the “Russian Special Forces University” in Gudermes.