Militants Attack Grozny, Chechnya One Day Before Vladimir Putin Addresses Russia

Militants Attack Grozny, Chechnya One Day Before Vladimir Putin Addresses Russia
Mary Chastain

Fighting broke out in Grozny, Chechnya, one day before Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his state of the nation. Russian authorities said militants killed three police officers at a checkpoint just after midnight. The attack forced Putin out of bed, and his convoy drove him to the Kremlin after 1AM local time.

The gunmen attacked the publishing house in the center of Grozny. Witnesses posted pictures and videos on social media:

President Ramzan Kadyrov, who is best friends with Putin, managed to bring some rest to Chechnya after two wars against Russia. Kadyrov is viewed as a Putin puppet. He addressed the occupation on his Instagram account. He told his followers the city is still intact and the anti-terrorist operation will be completed by morning. He also said it is possible the militants are from another region.

Kadyrov ‘s father Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechnya’s first pro-Moscow president, was assassinated in May 2004. Kadyrov won the presidency when Putin removed Akhmad’s successor Alu Alkhanov from office. Putin nominated Kadyrov for president. From the AP:

Following his father’s death in a rebel bombing, Kadyrov rebuilt the region with generous Kremlin funding and squelched the rebel resistance with his ruthless paramilitary forces, which have been blamed for extrajudicial killings, torture and other abuses.

On Thursday, Putin addressed Russia with his annual state of the nation at St. George Hall. The attacks in Grozny are another woe on Putin’s list. Russia’s government told Putin the country will likely enter a recession next year as the rouble continues to fall and oil prices drop. 

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