The Ukrainian army attacked the capital of Chechnya on Sunday, with residents reporting that three drones targeted the army and police.
Two of the devices were shot down, while the third hit the Akhmat-Grozny OMON base, which is said to house units of the Chechen leader’s army.
Pictures posted on Russia’s Telegram channel showed a missile-like plane flying towards a building in the city of Grozny, accompanied by the sound of gunfire in the background, followed by a loud explosion.
Sources on the Chechen Telegram channel reported attacks targeting key facilities including a riot police station, the second division of the Chechen intelligence and security department, and a military base linked to the Russian military.
Self-proclaimed Chechen hardliner Ramzan Kadyrov said no casualties had been reported and that he would respond “with the strongest and harshest retaliation”.
Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim country within the Russian Federation. Kadyrov has been a supporter of Moscow’s war and has sent troops to Ukraine, another 1,000 kilometers away, to fight alongside Russian forces.
Video footage appeared to show the drone exploding after it flew into a building
Yan Matveyev, a Russian military analyst, wrote on social media that the drone was likely an A-22, a modified fighter jet that was allegedly used by Kyiv for an unidentified long-range strike in Russia.
Yaroslav Trofimov, the Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, said on X that the drones “flew about 500 miles”.
The attack is Ukraine’s third this month in the region. Earlier this week, a drone was shot down over a police station, and four guards were injured from the debris. Last week a plane reportedly hit the roof of a police station.
In October, the roof of a military training center in the Chechen city of Gudermes was set on fire in what appeared to be the first Ukrainian drone attack targeting Chechnya since the war began in February 2022.
Commenting on Sunday’s attack, Kadyrov said on Telegram: “The next time you decide to attack the Chechen Republic with drones, remember that we will be launching a special attack on the areas occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. And the consequences of such a strike will be many times worse.”