Chechen Ramzan Kadyrov has officially commented on the drone strike that hit the high-rise complex in Grozny, promising to exact ‘cruel revenge’ for the attack while insulting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
Kadyrov’s Telegram channel published the video message on the evening of 5 December. The clip lasts around two minutes and contains visible editing cuts.
In the video, Kadyrov said that only the windows were damaged in the affected building and that it continues to be used by civilians. According to open sources, however, the complex also houses offices of state institutions, including the Chechen Security Council, the Commissioner for Human Rights, the Accounts Chamber, the Electoral Commission, the Finance Ministry, the Tourism Ministry, and the regional branch of the United Russia party.
Footage following the attack shows at least five floors of one of the towers damaged and a fire in the building.
In addition to commenting on the attack, Kadyrov promised to ‘take cruel revenge’ for the strike, specifying the timeframe that this would occur in the video’s caption as ‘from tomorrow and throughout the week’. He addressed the citizens of Ukraine, urging them to pay attention to the events, referred to ‘complaints’ from prisoners of war, and declared that Zelenskyi ‘is no longer president’, using insulting language towards him.
The video’s caption further noted that there were no casualties from the 5 December attack and that the strike on the high-rise building had ‘no tactical sense’. Kadyrov suggested that by attacking such a target, Ukraine had ‘further turned the civilian population against itself’.
A few hours before Kadyrov’s message, his Telegram channel published a comment on the events in Grozny in the context of preparations for New Year celebrations. The comment stated that the attack had not caused any casualties, describing it as ‘merely an attempt to intimidate the civilian population’ and ‘a sign of weakness’. On behalf of Kadyrov, it was stated that a response from the republic would ‘not take long’.
The 5 December attack was the third in Chechnya in recent weeks. On 27 November, a military facility in Grozny, and potentially a barracks in the village of Borzoy, were targeted. On the night of 2 December, the buildings of the Interior Ministry in Gudermes and the FSB in Achkhoy-Martan were attacked. According to Russian independent media outlet ASTRA, at least two security service officers were injured. Kadyrov did not comment on these attacks.
Following the attack on Grozny, rockets and drones were launched towards targets in Ukraine. Local authorities reported damage to residential buildings.
Kadyrov described the Russian army’s actions as a response to the strike on Grozny and thanked the Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, the Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov, the commander of the Aerospace Forces Viktor Afzalov, and the head of the regional government Magomed Daudov for ‘timely operational information’.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, on the night of 6 December, Russia launched 51 missiles of various types and 653 drones.
The strikes affected three districts in the Kyiv region, causing fires and damage at the railway station and depot in Fastiv, as well as warehouses and residential buildings in Novi Petrivtsi and Nezhylovychi.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported eight people injured: three in Kyiv, three in Dnipropetrovsk, and two in Lviv. The main targets of the attacks were energy infrastructure facilities.
Elizaveta Chukharova
