Several military drones — believed to be Ukrainian — have attacked a military garrison in the Baysangurov district of Grozny, Chechnya, and a military unit in the village of Borzoy in the Shatoy district. Eyewitnesses have posted videos and photos of the aftermath of the attack on social media, though no officials have commented on the strikes.
According to OSINT analysis, one of the drones from the Thursday attack struck the military garrison in the Baysangurov district of Grozny and damaged a building facing Akhmat Kadyrov Avenue. Following this, the roof collapsed, while one room caught fire. The 141st motorised regiment Sever of the National Guard is based in this garrison, but it is unclear what function this particular barracks served.
Videos and posts show smoke rising from one of the buildings at the site of the alleged impact, as well as from nearby hangar-type structures with white curved roofs. This may indicate damage to the unit’s infrastructure.
Another strike on Thursday evening was carried out on the military unit in the village of Borzoy in the Shatoy municipal district of Chechnya, where the 291st motorised rifle regiment and the 8th separate guards mountain motorised rifle brigade are located.
According to a local resident, the drone exploded on the territory of the military unit, most likely in the parade-ground area.
Because of the attack, the operation of airports in several regions of the North Caucasus — including Chechnya, Daghestan, North Ossetia, and Ingushetia — were temporarily suspended. Restrictions in Grozny and Makhachkala were the last to be lifted, an hour after the first reports of strikes.
According to information available at the time of publication, neither the Chechen authorities nor the Russian Defence Ministry have officially confirmed the strike on the military facilities.
This is not the first time drone attacks on military and security facilities have been recorded in Chechnya.
The republic first saw a drone attack in October 2024. As a result of the strike, the roof of one of the buildings of the Special Forces University in Gudermes caught fire. Chechen Head 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. He then subsequently altered his answer, claiming the building was holding ‘up to 10 Ukrainian prisoners’, some of whom were injured or killed.
The second attack in Chechnya occurred in December, when a drone targeted the 2nd police regiment building located in Grozny. Kadyrov only acknowledged the attack in the evening, and while he indicated that there were casualties as a result of the attack, he did not say how many.
A third drone attack later that month hit the barracks of the Akhmat Kadyrov special police regiment, wounding four officers. Following the attack, Kadyrov promised revenge.
Elizaveta Chukharova
