Azerbaijani media are discussing a blatant story about how three Azerbaijani citizens detained in Chechnya were illegally and forcibly sent to fight in Ukraine. According to Tapdig Rzayev, the father of Nihad Rzayev, one of the detainees, Azerbaijani citizens detained in Chechnya in late August, allegedly to be sent to fight in the Russo-Ukrainian war by Russia, are labor migrants. 

Rzayev said that his son and two relatives, Vugar Maharramov and Elkhan Shirinov, have been working as construction laborers in Chechnya since May 2024. 

Following these developments, Rzayev said Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet of Ministers were informed, and a formal note was sent to the Russian side. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has contacted the family, and recent updates have offered hope that the detained citizens might return home soon. The Azerbaijani government has officially appealed to the Russian Foreign Ministry, demanding an investigation into the matter and actions to protect the rights of Nihad Rzayev, Vugar Maharramov, and Elkhan Shirinov, who were allegedly forced into the conflict.

Notably, the three were detained in late August under the pretext of lacking registration. While Nihad Rzayev remains in a temporary detention center for immigrants, Maharramov and Shirinov were reportedly forced to sign contracts to be sent to fight in Ukraine and are now undergoing training at the "Northern Akhmat" military unit in Grozny. It is feared that Nihad Rzayev may also be coerced into signing a similar contract.