Apti Alaudinov, the commander of Akhmat, a Chechen armed formation fighting on Russia's side, is refusing to exchange Chechen prisoners of war in Ukrainian captivity, advising them to "wash off their shame with blood" and be slaughtered instead.

Chechen commander Apti Alaudinov on Sept. 15 said that fighters who willingly surrendered to Ukrainian forces do not deserve to live and should "do everything they can to get themselves killed."

The commander of the Chechen Akhmat special forces battalion criticized Chechen fighters who surrendered to Ukraine.