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Why Ukraine's parliament named Chechnya occupied
Summary
A Verkhovna Rada resolution linked the Chechen wars to Kyiv's wider case against Russian conduct.
What did it mean when Ukraine's parliament declared Chechnya occupied? On 18 October 2022, the Verkhovna Rada passed a resolution recognising Chechnya as "temporarily occupied" by Russia. The same resolution condemned war crimes committed by Russia during the First and Second Chechen Wars.
The measure placed two themes side by side: a territorial claim about Chechnya and a judgment on wartime conduct. Describing Chechnya as temporarily occupied used language that the resolution applied to a region outside Ukraine's own borders, within the broader framing of Russia–Ukraine relations.
The condemnation of war crimes fits a wider body of accusations. Russian war crimes, as later described, cover violations of international criminal law that Russia's armed and paramilitary forces have committed or been accused of committing since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. The accusations include murder, torture, deportation, enforced disappearance and the destruction of civilian objects.
The resolution itself was a parliamentary position adopted on 18 October 2022. It set out how the Rada characterised Russian conduct in Chechnya, and it tied that characterisation to the two Chechen wars by name.
