For the first time in a year and a half, the authorities of Chechnya confirmed information about an armed incident in the republic.

The shootout, during which a suspected militant was killed, became the first armed incident in Chechnya since April 2025, information about which was officially confirmed by the republican authorities. At the same time, their message demonstrated that data on underground activity is being carefully suppressed.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", one person suspected of involvement in sabotage in the Gudermes district was killed in Chechnya, and another person was detained, said Ramzan Kadyrov after a meeting with security officials. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya, Aslan Iraskhanov, spoke at the meeting about the preparation of an explosion near the administration of the Gudermes district and plans for an attack on a traffic police post in the Chernorechye area.

The operation in which the suspected member of the armed underground was killed became the first armed incident in Chechnya officially confirmed by the authorities of the republic in a year and a half. According to sources, it took place on the evening of October 19 in the Kurchaloevsky district of Chechnya.

While stating that one suspected militant was killed and one was detained, the authorities of Chechnya did not provide details of the incident and did not disclose information about injured or killed security officials. Chechen opposition Telegram channels claim that at least some security officials were injured.

The commander of the special police regiment named after Akhmat Kadyrov, Zamid Chalaev, effectively confirmed the information from sources that security officials in Chechnya were conducting large-scale raids in search of suspected militants on the night of October 19 to 20. Sources reported that patrols were intensified in various settlements of the republic and on its borders, but the authorities of Chechnya did not officially explain the active actions of law enforcement.

In his Instagram stories, Chalaev promised "not to be lenient" with residents of Chechnya whom security officials detain on suspicion of aiding extremists and militants. According to official media, Chalaev announced a "no-compromise struggle against supporters and accomplices of extremism and terrorism." "If someone took a person away, helped him, he will be shot without trial or investigation," translated Chalaev's words by one of the opposition Chechen Telegram channels.

Official agencies referred to an event that was not reported

It remains unclear what "sabotage committed in the past" Ramzan Kadyrov refers to in his message about the "situation in the Gudermes district." According to a translation from Chechen made by the "Caucasian Knot" with the help of artificial intelligence and confirmed by a native speaker, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya spoke at the meeting about a planned explosion near the administration building, referring to the testimony of the detainee.

"They planned to carry out an explosion near the administration building. This is exactly what the detainee is currently confessing to: how they got there, how they planned to attack the traffic police post that is set up there, or at the mosque, to carry out sabotage and seize automatic weapons," translated the words of the speaker Gemini Argon.

At the same time, the state news agency TASS, referring to Iraskhanov, reported on an explosion that occurred "last year." "According to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Chechnya, Aslan Iraskhanov, the detainee confessed to involvement in the explosion that occurred last year near the administration building, as well as to the installation of an improvised explosive device in the Chernorechye area, aimed at the traffic police post," the TASS-Caucasus channel reported.

The official Grozny information agency "Chechnya Today" also wrote about "sabotage committed last year," however, the authorities of Chechnya and the official media of the republic did not report any incidents in the Gudermes district throughout 2025.

Kadyrov linked the attack in Achkhoy-Martan with Ukrainians

The previous armed incident that the Chechen authorities officially recognized and confirmed was an attack on a traffic police post in the center of Achkhoy-Martan, committed on April 7, 2025. The attacker was armed with a knife and managed to injure two security officials before being shot. One of the injured security officials later died, as reported by the Investigative Committee of Russia for Chechnya.

The teenager who carried out the attack was killed at the scene of the incident. His body was brought on April 9 for viewing to forcibly gathered budget employees at the administration. The motive for the attack was a personal conflict of the young man with one of the security officials at the post, although Ramzan Kadyrov named the organizer of the attack a certain "citizen of Ukraine."

On April 11, it became known that the father of the teenager was taken from Moscow to Chechnya and beaten. A Chechen opposition Telegram channel reported that security officials detained all relatives of the attacker, including his underage cousins.

Information about armed incidents in Chechnya is collected by the "Caucasian Knot" in the chronicle "Chechnya after the counter-terrorist operation: sabotage, terrorism, abductions". In the section "North Caucasus - statistics of victims" information about the victims of the armed conflict in the North Caucasus is published.

Chalaev's words demonstrated the doubts of Kadyrov's men about the loyalty of the population

Such public warnings about punishment for assistance to "suspicious people" stem from the insecurity of Chechen authorities in the loyalty of the population, believes the chairwoman of the "Civic Assistance" committee * Svetlana Gannushkina*.

"They are afraid of the population, of people in general, they are afraid of protests. They know much more than we do about what they have done. Some scare others out of their own fear," she told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

According to the human rights activist, this does not correspond at all to the official rhetoric about stability. "They still say that everything is fine with us. If you want logic, there is none. I would call this a period of absurdity," Gannushkina* summarized.

The political scientist Ruslan Kutaev* believes that Chalaev's speech confirms that "society is ready to explode." "Society is waiting for the arrival of liberators, and Chalaev and those like him are talking because there is an expectation of tension in the situation in Russia itself and in the North Caucasus. I can say for sure, if Chechnya rises, Chalaevs will not be there, they will simply be swept away, or they will save themselves if they flee from there," Kutaev* told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

A human rights activist, familiar with the situation in Chechnya, also linked Chalaev's intimidating speech to the awareness of an existing threat.

"Execution without trial or investigation is the essence of today's Chechnya and speaks of the impunity of the supporters of power for any crime. I think that by this address he acknowledges that there is some threat to them," he told the "Caucasian Knot".

* included in the register of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice of Russia.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.