Russian propagandists quarreled over the exchange of Ukrainian volunteer and paramedic Yulia Payevskaya with the call sign "Tayra". They claim that she was exchanged for Adam Hrytsenko, son of Murad Saidov, the assistant to the Chechen representative in the annexed Crimea.
Novaya Gazeta writes about this.
After President Volodymyr Zelenskyi publicly announced the return of Tayra from captivity, Russian military correspondents, citing their own sources, assured that there were no exchanges and that Yulia Payevskaya continues to be in captivity. However, later there was a video confirmation that "Tayra" is already in the territory controlled by Ukraine.
Irina Kuksenkova, a propagandist from Russiaʼs Perviy Kanal, wrote the most about this topic. She first asserted that the Tayra was not exchanged, and then said that it was not an exchange, but "a murky scheme with a corruption component". According to her, the exchange was carried out by the representative of Chechnya in the Crimea Isa Khachukayev and his assistant Murad Saidov. They wanted to free the son of the latter, Adam Hrytsenko.
Hrytsenko himself noted that in March he was indeed detained by Ukrainian special services, checked for documents, and then transported to a "safe place." He said it was planned to turn him into a "sacred sacrifice". Hrytsenko himself is a citizen of Ukraine and is studying to be a lawyer, and he called the Kadyrovites "lost" people and called on Chechens not to fight in Ukraine.
At first Kuksenkovaʼs statements were refuted by the head of Chechnyaʼs cadres. He published Saidovʼs address in his Telegram channel, in which he assured that his son was still in captivity. Kadyrov himself said that "dishonest" journalists who spread "unproven and completely false versions" risked being involved in a criminal case for spreading false information about the Russian military.
Chechen Minister of Information Ahmed Dudayev later criticized Kuksenkova. He called the propagandist and assured her that none of the Chechens were involved in the exchange of Tayra. She said that "God forbid it was so", but has completely different information about the details of the exchange. She was supported by other propagandists who continue to criticize the Russian leadership for exchanging Tayra.