On May 6, North Ossetian leader Sergei Menyailo appointed Yuriy Abayev, a former Russian army officer and veteran of the war in Ukraine, as the republic's Minister of Labor and Social Protection. The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense considers him a war criminal due to his soldiers' involvement in the execution of Ukrainian soldiers.
Commenting on the appointment, Menyailo wrote about Abayev on his Telegram channel: "A year ago, he was among the 83 participants in the 'Time of Heroes' program, which, at the initiative of Vladimir Putin, is being implemented by the Higher School of Public Administration of the Presidential Academy. The head of state has set us a clear goal: to form a management team of those who have already proven their readiness to stand for the country to the end. Yuriy Abayev is precisely such a person. Reliable, disciplined, with a clear understanding of why he is here and what needs to be done. And most importantly, he is ready to work for the good of his republic and the entire country. As his mentor, I know what he is capable of. I'm confident he'll cope."
Unlike many of the participants in the "Time of Heroes" program, Yuri Abayev is not a government official on a short assignment in the "SVO," but a career military man. He graduated from the Suvorov Military School in Vladikavkaz and the Moscow Higher Command School, served in the Far East and Chechnya, participated in combat operations in Syria from July 2021, and in Ukraine from March 2022. He commanded the first battalion of the 71st Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, then became deputy commander of the 70th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment.
For his participation in the battles near the village of Rabotino in the Zaporizhzhia region, he received the title "Hero of Russia." At the same time, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine considers him an accomplice in the execution of four Ukrainian prisoners of war in May 2024 near the village of Rabotino. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), Dmitry Nagorny, commander of the 2nd Battalion; Temirlan Abutalimov, commander of the 1st Assault Company; Zaur Bekov, commander of the 3rd Assault Company; and Yusup Imagazaliev, commander of the 6th Assault Company, were also involved in the crime. Intelligence bases its accusations on intercepted radio communications in which one of the assault company commanders orders the execution of prisoners. Drone footage shows four soldiers unarmed and with their hands raised. They are forced to lie facedown on the ground and shot at point-blank range.

In January 2024, in an interview with the website "Osnova," Abayev (call sign "Buffalo") said: "...Not a single person from my unit will ever touch a prisoner. I take this very seriously, and my soldiers know this well – they will always provide assistance if they are wounded. On the Russian side, there is no such thing as bullying or humiliation." This isn't our level. Killing an unarmed man is pointless. You yourself understand the state of a person in captivity. Why beat him or harm him? He needs to be fed, given something to drink, given a little faith in this life, in people, given the chance to survive and return to his family."
In the same interview, he recounts that his unit had "a total of about 200 prisoners... About 80 in the Zaporizhzhia sector alone."
The "Time of Heroes" program was launched at the instigation of Vladimir Putin. Its goal is to create a so-called "new elite" in Russia—a reserve of officials and public politicians from among the participants of the "SVO." Any veteran or active military member who has returned from the "SVO" can participate in the program, as long as they have Russian citizenship, a higher education, experience in personnel management, and a clean criminal record.
Tens of thousands of people applied to participate in the program, and 83 made it to the finals. Novaya Gazeta Europe discovered that the largest number of finalists came from Moscow and Dagestan. Five candidates from Dagestan made it to the finals, three of whom were civil servants before joining the "SVO." These candidates are Abdulla Magomedov, a member of the republic's parliament; Temirlan Abutalimov, an investigator from the Khasavyurt District Department of Internal Affairs; and Nail Selikhanov, the head of a National Guard unit.
The finalists of the "Time of Heroes" program are promised online training, but appointments to leadership positions are not guaranteed. Political scientists note that the bureaucracy is quietly but stubbornly resisting any personnel changes. Therefore, the program has become a PR stunt and a "symbolic reward for war veterans."