--- title: "Ukraine Strikes Chechnya With Long-Range Drones For The First Time" description: "The Ukrainian long-range attack on the special forces training center has incurred the wrath of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov. The Ukrainian long-range attack on the special forces training center has incurred the wrath of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov." date: "2024-10-29" modified: "2024-10-29" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/news-features/ukraine-strikes-chechnya-with-long-range-drones-for-the-first-time" categories: - "Air" - "Around The Globe" - "Drones" - "Europe" - "Land" - "News & Features" - "Russia" - "Special Operations" - "Ukraine" - "Unmanned" --- # Ukraine Strikes Chechnya With Long-Range Drones For The First Time ![The Kremlin-appointed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has vowed to avenge a Ukrainian drone attack that struck a military training facility in Chechnya. The raid, which appears to be the first of its kind to hit the southern Russian republic, is one of the longest-range drone strikes that Ukraine has attempted. The target was special forces training center, but the attack also has significant symbolic value, due to Kadyrov’s vocal support for the Russian war in Ukraine.]() *via X* The Kremlin-appointed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has vowed to avenge a Ukrainian drone attack that struck a military training facility in Chechnya. The raid, which appears to be the first of its kind to hit the southern Russian republic, is one of the [longest-range drone strikes]() that Ukraine has attempted. The target was a special forces training center, but the attack also carries significant symbolic value, due to the high level of support of local strongman Ramzan Kadyrov for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Imagery posted to social media shows the apparent aftermath of the drone strike, on the military training academy in the town of Gudermes, 22 miles east of Grozny, the Chechen capital. As [we have discussed in the past](), Kadyrov was directly responsible for the creation of the Russian University of Special Forces — also known as the University of Spetsnaz — in Gudermes in 2013. https://www.twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1851186812078686634 https://www.twitter.com/RALee85/status/1851165014733762598 https://www.twitter.com/Danielibertari0/status/1851196483657191597 “Today at 6:30 a.m. in Gudermes, as a result of an unmanned aerial attack, the roof of an empty building on the territory of the Russian University of Special Forces caught fire,” Kadyrov wrote on social media. “There are no victims or injured. The fire has been extinguished.” https://www.twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1851245368345833792 https://www.twitter.com/DevanaUkraine/status/1851248650585821374 Kadyrov claimed that the academy was still operating as usual and that “investigative bodies” were working on “identifying those involved in the crime.” “They’ve bitten us — we will destroy them,” Kadyrov [told reporters]() in a video published by Russian state news agency *RIA*. “In the very near future we’ll show them the kind of vengeance they’ve never even dreamt of,” he added. ![]() *A satellite image of the Russian University of Special Forces in Gudermes. Imagery from today shows the large, boomerang-shaped building close to the center of the facility on fire. *Google Earth** As is typical for drone strikes of this kind, there was no immediate comment from officials in Kyiv. The privately run training academy’s glitzy [website]() describes it as a “professional educational institution,” that offers “unique training grounds, methodology, and teaching staff that have no analogs in Russia.” The website features prominent testimonies from both Kadyrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The academy instructs both soldiers and civilians in a variety of combat tactics, including gunnery, drone operating, battlefield first aid, and parachute landing. ![]() *A Chechen instructor supervises gunnery practice at Gudermes. *Russian University of Special Forces** ![]() *A Russian University of Special Forces course in the operation of quadcopter-type drones. *Russian University of Special Forces** More than 47,000 troops deployed to the front line in Ukraine have been trained in Gudermes, [according to the Kremlin](). Meanwhile, a report from the Russian state news agency *TASS* [claims]() that over 19,000 volunteers have been trained at the university before going to fight in Ukraine. Ukraine has been regularly using long-range drones of various types to strike targets in Russia, including hitting targets many hundreds of miles behind the front lines. Gudermes is around 780 miles from Odesa and around 650 miles from Kharkiv. ![]() As far as we know, this is the first time a Ukrainian drone strike has been launched against Chechnya, which is led by Kadyrov, a close ally of Putin who has frequently played on his warlord credentials to help bolster support for the war in Ukraine. Last month, Kadyrov [garnered press coverage]() due to his claim that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had “remotely disabled” his machine-gun-armed [Cybertruck](), which he had sent to the front line in Ukraine, where he said it had been “performing well in combat.” “What Elon Musk did was not nice. He gives expensive gifts from the heart and then remotely switches them off,” Kadyrov said, before noting that another pair of Cybertrucks had since been sent to the Ukrainian battlefield. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPW1ldzrfOg More significantly, Kadyrov has contributed thousands of his own Chechen paramilitary forces to support the full-scale Russian invasion, since the very beginning of the operation. https://www.twitter.com/eha_news/status/1497180891755335690 https://www.twitter.com/RALee85/status/1497682331380981761 https://www.twitter.com/RALee85/status/1502816519058825220 While Kadyrov presents an image of staunch loyalty to Moscow, his position has also seen him emerge as one of the few political figures in Russia who speaks out about the way the war in Ukraine is being fought. Kadyrov [has not held back]() from criticizing the Russian Armed Forces leadership when Ukrainian forces have made advances or offered tougher-than-expected resistance and he has suggested in the past that Putin might not be fully aware of the real situation on the ground in Ukraine. Earlier this year [there were signs]() that the Kremlin might be looking to appoint a new Chechen leader, amid rumors that Kadyrov was seriously ill with pancreatic necrosis. The leader responded by publishing a workout video to counter claims of his deteriorating health. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uYOOnf_Z9xg “Remember that taking care of your health is an investment in your future,” a caption to the video read, while footage showed Kadyrov bench-pressing, lifting weights, and wrestling with a sparring partner. Interestingly, Kadyrov also moved to shore up his position as a staunch Putin supporter after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group who launched a [brief armed mutiny]() against Russia’s leadership in the summer of 2023, before being killed in a plane crash, [the details of which remain murky](). A day after Prigozhin’s funeral, Kadyrov — who had previously suggested that he could provide an alternative to the Wagner boss — [described himself]() as Putin’s foot soldier and said he was ready to die for the Russian president. There were also suggestions Kadyrov might be lining himself up as Prigozhin’s successor, with his [claims]() that former Wagner Group mercenaries were training in Chechnya with his forces. ![In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state owned Sputnik agency Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) and head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov (2-L) visit the "Russian Spetsnaz University" special force training centre in Gudermes on August 20, 2024. (Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) / Editor's note : this image is distributed by Russian state owned agency Sputnik (Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)]() *Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov visit the Russian University of Special Forces in Gudermes on August 20 of this year. *Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP* VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV* With repeated accusations of human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial killings, as well as sanctions in multiple countries to his name, Kadyrov remains a very visible and highly active supporter of the Russian war effort. The fact the territory he rules over has come under long-range drone attack shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as Ukraine continues to expand its drone programs. There is a possibility that Russia’s failure to defend Kadyrov’s republic against drone attacks will lead to more criticisms leveled toward the Russian Ministry of Defense. Ever since Ukraine began its campaign of long-range drone strikes, [there have been questions]() asked about the efficiency and preparedness of Russian air defenses to counter these threats. At the same time, depending on the damage that was inflicted, targeting the Russian University of Special Forces may also serve to disrupt the operations at what is, by all accounts, an important training center feeding both Russian soldiers and volunteers to support the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. But above all else, this was a symbolic strike, although it could be the first of many more to come. *Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()