(Dan Tri) – Leader of the Russian Republic of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov proposed exchange conditions with the US for him to release Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Head of the Russian Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov (Photo: Tass).

Russian state media reported that Mr. Ramzan Kadyrov on January 5 asked the US to lift sanctions against his family members and in exchange he would release Ukrainian prisoners of war.

He made this announcement to former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter, who was visiting Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.

Mr. Kadyrov said: `We have prisoners that we captured in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. I am transferring this list to our guest (Mr. Ritter). If the US lifts sanctions on the mother

According to Tass, there was a video recording of Ukrainian prisoners being held when the list was given to Mr. Ritter.

It is unclear why Mr. Kadyrov decided to contact US authorities through Mr. Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector.

The US has not commented on Mr. Kadyrov’s proposal.

The US imposed financial sanctions and a travel ban on Ms. Aymani Kadyrova, Mr. Kadyrov’s mother, and a number of other Russian individuals and organizations last August.

Mr. Kadyrov later warned that the US would face retaliation if Washington did not lift the above sanctions.

Mr. Kadyrov’s mother was punished because she is the head of the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, an organization that the US accuses of being involved in training Ukrainian children evacuated by Russia from war zones.

Mr. Kadyrov criticized Washington’s sanctions, saying this move `shocked` him even though he was used to `unreasonable sanctions from the US and the West`.

`The whole world knows she (Mr. Kadyrov’s mother) does nothing but charity work,` he said, claiming that Ms. Kadyrova was punished because she was his mother.

However, he stated that the sanctions will be `painless` for Russia and are only a measure for the US to console itself.

The Republic of Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim region.

Since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine, Mr. Kadyrov has received a number of sanctions from the West for supporting Russia’s military campaign.

In October 2022, Editor-in-Chief of the Russian Book of Records Stanislav Konenko announced on October 5 that Chechen leader Kadyrov was recorded as the person with the most sanctions in the world.

In addition, Mr. Kadyrov also achieved the record for `the highest number of sanctions in the world applied to a single person, relatives and partners`.

The head of Chechnya, at the time, said he was proud to be the record holder.