Drone Strikes Russian Military Base in Grozny

On the morning of May 8, a strike drone attacked a Russian military base in Grozny.

According to Astra, citing OSINT analysis of videos from the scene, at least two large fixed-wing drones targeted the capital of Chechnya.

One of the drones struck a military base in Khankala, a suburb of Grozny, where the headquarters of Russia’s 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division (military unit 27777) is located.

The division is part of the 58th Combined Arms Army of Russia’s Southern Military District.

Another drone crashed near the railway station in central Grozny. Its likely target was the Chechen branch of the Federal Security Service, located about 120 meters away.

According to footage published by Exilenova+, the Ukrainian Defense Forces used light aircraft converted into kamikaze drones for the strike.

The use of such long-range unmanned aerial vehicles to hit key targets inside Russia has been known since 2024.

Ukrainian specialists have managed to transform civilian light aircraft into deadly weapons capable of carrying a large warhead and flying long distances.

Despite its size, this type of drone remains a difficult target for Russian air defense systems.

This is evidenced by today’s strike on the Chechen capital, as well as attacks on other Russian regions located more than 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine’s border.

In early December last year, drones struck the building of the Security Council of the Chechen Republic, which had been sending militants to Ukraine.