Chechen leader vows vengeance on Ukraine it ‘never dreamed of’

A Ukrainian drone has reportedly attacked the Russian Special Forces University (RUS) in Chechnya, setting its roof on fire

Chechen units fighting against Kiev’s troops on the front lines will now redouble their efforts, the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, told journalists in the wake of a reported Ukrainian drone strike on a military training center in the region.

Those behind the attack will face retaliation they had “never dreamed of,” he stated.
Tuesday morning marked the first time a Ukrainian drone reportedly struck a target in the southern Russian region. Earlier, Kadyrov said that an unmanned aerial vehicle had hit the Russian Special Forces University (RUS) in Chechnya, setting the facility’s roof on fire. No casualties or injuries resulted and the fire was quickly extinguished, he said.

The RUS was founded in 2013 on the personal initiative of Kadyrov, and is the first and only private educational institution in the country to provide special forces training. It also offers courses in weapons handling, first aid, assault mountaineering, combat diving, martial arts, and parachuting, as well as training for bodyguards and military journalists.

Kadyrov insisted that the Chechen Republic would not allow the incident to go unpunished. “They’ve bitten us, we’ll destroy them,” he told journalists in the wake of the attack. “We will show them vengeance in the near future they’ve never dreamed of,” he added, stating that “we will not allow them to joke around with us.” 

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The Chechen leader then said that he had already ordered all Chechen units’ commanders to “up their fighting [efforts] by another 100%” to show “that the Chechens can still enhance their capabilities.” He also called on the republic’s residents to join the Russian forces on the front lines.

“I call on the real man to volunteer for the fighting, to defend our land, our state and our people,” he said, adding that he wanted to see “aircraft with volunteers on board flying to the front lines every day and not just once a week.” 

Kadyrov previously stated that over 47,000 fighters, including 19,000 volunteers, had undergone training at RUS since the start of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in 2022.

Ukraine has launched hundreds of UAV attacks on various Russian regions over the past two years of the conflict. They have often targeted energy facilities and civilian infrastructure. Over the past several weeks, Kiev has intensified its drone strikes on Russian territory.