Second drone attack in recent weeks reported in Chechnya

Residents of Chechnya are reporting in local online chat rooms about an explosion they heard on Wednesday morning, which they believe could have been caused by a Ukrainian drone attack on one of the security forces’ facilities in Chechnya.

According to the Chechen opposition Telegram channel 1ADAT, the drone’s target was the base of the Second Police Regiment of Chechnya’s Internal Ministry. It is located in close proximity to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.

Another Chechen opposition Telegram channel Niyso, noted that many ambulances were seen near the base. At the same time, no casualties were officially reported. 

Later on Wednesday, a number of Telegram channels, including ones linked to the Russian government, published video surveillance footage of the moment of the explosion. The authenticity of the footage has not been confirmed. 

Opposition Telegram channels also published a photo of the aftermath of the attack, which appeared to show a building with a collapsed roof. OC Media has geolocated the photo and checked its authenticity, and confirmed that it is a base belonging to the Second Police Regiment of Chechnya’s Internal Ministry, located on Staropromyslovsky Highway 17.

Operations at Grozny’s airport were suspended until 6:00 on Wednesday, the Russian Telegram channel Mash Gor reported, citing the airport’s director. The publication noted that a heightened security alert was introduced in Chechnya due to the threat of drone attacks, and flights were delayed. The Flightradar service, which tracks flights, did not show any information about morning flights from Grozny, though two Utair planes were due to depart from there to Dubai and Moscow. However, the airport’s own website listed both flights as departing.

On Wednesday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defence acknowledged that drone attacks had been carried out across Russia, including in the southern Russian regions of Krasnodair Krai and Rostov Oblast. Neither the Defence Ministry nor Chechen authorities have officially commented on any potential drone attacks in the region.

In October, drones attacked Chechnya for the first time. As a result of the strike, the roof of one of the buildings of the Special Forces University in Gudermes caught fire. The head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, first denied the drone attack, but then later claimed that there was no destruction or casualties, alleging the drones hit an ‘empty’ building. Kadyrov subsequently altered his answer, claiming the building was holding ‘up to 10 Ukrainian prisoners’, some of whom were injured or killed. 

Drone strikes in the North Caucasus increase

Last week, drones attacked the Caspian Sea port city of Kaspiysk, located near Makhachkala and home to a base of Russia’s Caspian Flotilla. It was  the second attack on the city in a month.

At the time, the head of Daghestan, Sergei Melikov, claimed there were no casualties or damage. Ukrainian intelligence, however, told the UNIAN media outlet that two missile ships, the Tatarstan and the Daghestan, as well as other small naval vessels, were damaged.

Drone attacks have been reported elsewhere in the North Caucasus, such as an attack on a military airfield in North Ossetia, and multiple attacks in Stavropol Krai. In November, a drone struck an oil depot in the town of Svetlograd, causing a fire.