Ukrainian Drones Strike Chechen Akhmat Base and FSB Office as High‑Level Diplomacy Intensifies

Ukrainian drones struck a Chechen special forces compound and damaged an FSB office on Tuesday, in incidents that came days before high‑level talks in Moscow aimed at advancing diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Video shared online showed a large explosion at the Akhmat unit compound in Gudermes, with flames and thick smoke rising from the site. The Akhmat formation is an elite paramilitary unit personally loyal to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and has previously sent fighters to the front lines in Kharkiv and Donetsk.

In a separate strike, an FSB office in Achkhoy‑Martan was damaged by a drone; photographs circulating on social media showed shattered windows and debris outside the building. Ukrainian authorities have not claimed responsibility for these strikes.

Also on Tuesday, a Russian‑flagged tanker carrying sunflower oil to Georgia was attacked off the Turkish coast in what was reported to be the fourth such incident this week. Separately, a Russian ballistic missile struck an industrial district in Dnipro on Monday, killing four people and injuring about 40, according to local officials.

Diplomatic Context

The strikes unfolded as a flurry of diplomacy sought to push both sides towards negotiation. Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for former U.S. President Donald Trump, travelled to Moscow for his sixth meeting with President Vladimir Putin this year. Jared Kushner also travelled to Moscow alongside Witkoff amid broader US‑backed diplomatic efforts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Ireland after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, part of a wider tour to shore up European support. Macron said there is “no finalised peace plan” and stressed that any agreement must involve Ukraine and its European partners directly.

Battlefield Claims and Reactions

Moscow announced it had captured the strategically significant cities of Vovchansk and Pokrovsk, where fighting has been intense for more than a year. Kyiv disputed those claims, saying heavy fighting continued on the northern outskirts of Pokrovsk. Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s centre for countering disinformation, said the Russian assertions appear aimed at shifting pressure onto Ukraine in forthcoming negotiations.

President Putin visited a military command centre on Monday and thanked troops for their efforts, saying success in the area would help achieve the goals set at the start of the “special military operation.” Analysts warn that even if Russia were to secure Pokrovsk, advancing on major Ukrainian hubs such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk would remain difficult and could take years at current rates of advance.

Diplomatic activity also intensified after a leaked 28‑point plan linked to Mr. Trump — which reportedly included a ban on Ukraine joining NATO and territorial concessions in the Donbas — was widely rejected by Kyiv and several European governments. Those countries have since worked on an alternative framework that would better protect Ukrainian sovereignty.

Observers say the combination of military incidents and fast‑moving diplomacy underscores the fragility of the situation: battlefield developments can affect negotiations, while diplomatic moves may influence military calculations on the ground.