Ukraine ramps up counter-attacks against Russia with drone strike on Chechnya

A Ukrainian drone struck a facility belonging to Russia’s National Guard in Chechnya on Sunday, as Kyiv continues to fight back after a large-scale air attack by Moscow.

Footage shared on social media captured the drone flying over the Chechen capital, Grozny, located 800 kilometres southeast of the front line in Ukraine, before exploding. No casualties were reported. 

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov confirmed that the drone hit a site belonging to the Akhmat Grozny riot police battalion. Two other drones were intercepted by air defences, he said.  

Kadyrov vowed retaliation against Ukrainian forces, and said he had ordered a missile strike on military facilities in Kharkiv. This claim could not be independently verified. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry on Sunday reported shooting down 15 Ukrainian drones overnight in the country's Kursk and Belgorod regions, and over the Black Sea, although it did not mention the Grozny incident. 

​​An official from Ukraine's security service said on Sunday that Ukrainian intelligence had carried out a special mission to disrupt Russia’s fuel supply routes from annexed Crimea to occupied Zaporizhzhia.

The mission, conducted on Saturday, destroyed a locomotive and 40 tanker cars, according to the security official.

A sabotage mission blew up railway tracks while the train was in motion, with HIMARS rocket launch systems later joining the attack, the official said.

"As a result, a key railway branch used to supply Russian troops was put out of service for an extended period," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Kyiv’s recent strikes follow a massive Russian bombardment on Friday, during which Moscow launched 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and nearly 200 drones, targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. 

Russian forces continue to make advances in eastern Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War think tank reported on Sunday that geolocated footage showed Russian troops inside Kurakhove, a settlement they have besieged for weeks. 

These developments come amid uncertainty about the future of Washington's support for Ukraine, as US President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he may limit Kyiv’s use of American-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory. In an interview with TIME magazine on Thursday, Trump reiterated his opposition to such attacks. 

Over the weekend, Ukraine’s air force said it had intercepted 56 out of 108 drones launched by Russia, while others failed to reach their targets or returned to Russian territory. 

Vitalii Kim, the governor of Ukraine's Mykolaiv oblast, said two people were injured in the region's capital during the attack, which also caused damage to local infrastructure.