A drone strike early Tuesday morning targeted a special forces university in Chechnya’s North Caucasus region, causing damage to the facility, according to regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
This incident marks the first drone attack on the area since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
“At 6:30 this morning, the roof of an empty building on the territory of the Russian Special Forces University caught fire in Gudermes as a result of an unmanned aerial attack,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram, referring to a town approximately 36 kilometers (22 miles) east of Chechnya's capital, Grozny.
Images posted on social media displayed flames and dark smoke rising from what appeared to be the main campus building’s roof.
“No one was killed or injured. The fire has been extinguished,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram, adding that the incident did not affect university operations.
Kadyrov did not specify whether he suspected the drone originated from Ukraine but stated that police were investigating the attack. Chechnya is located roughly 600 kilometers (373 miles) southeast of Ukraine’s border.
The Russian Special Forces University, the only private institution in the country dedicated to special unit training, opened a center for soldier training after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This spring, it reportedly began combat drone production as well.
President Vladimir Putin, whose name the university bears, visited the campus earlier in August.
