Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov said that one person suspected by the authorities of sabotage had been killed and another detained. The confirmation comes after the Chechen opposition movement NIYSO claimed there was a shootout on Monday in which security forces killed 36-year-old Turpal-Ali Mezhidov, a native of Gudermes.
Kadyrov did not comment on any casualties among security personnel, which NIYSO alleged took place, while writing about the incident on his Telegram channel on Thursday evening following a meeting with law enforcement officials. Citing Chechnya’s Interior Minister Aslan Iraskhanov, he said that operational activities had identified people involved in ‘acts of sabotage committed in the past’. One suspect had been ‘eliminated’, while another had apparently been detained.
In a video attached to the post, Iraskhanov claims the detainee confessed to carrying out an explosion last year.
‘There was an explosion near the administration building in Gudermes last year. The detainee admitted that he had carried it out. We have his confession. A “Mukha” [grenade launcher] was also placed in Chernorechye (a suburb of Grozny), targeting a traffic police checkpoint’, Iraskhanov said.
Chechen authorities did not report any incidents in the Gudermes district during 2025 that matched this description.
Kadyrov did not specify when or where the shootout took place, how the person was killed or whether any security personnel were injured. He did not name the person killed or the detainee.
OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova
The Russian state news agency TASS, citing Iraskhanov, reported that the detainee had confessed to involvement in an explosion near the district administration building that took place last year, as well as planting another explosive device in Chernorechye. However, in the video, Iraskhanov speaks only of a planned explosion and an intended attack on a traffic police checkpoint.
At the meeting, Kadyrov also said he believed the families of militants should bear collective responsibility for their actions.
‘They [the militants] wanted to kill the officers on duty and take their weapons. How do people like this even emerge and remain right under our noses? If you failed to identify such a person in your district in time, if he passed the traffic police and police department without being noticed, then you are not doing your job properly. The whole family must be held to account. If a father, brothers or other relatives say, “We didn’t know what he was doing”, that is impossible! If someone takes up arms and goes out to kill an officer, his entire family must be held responsible’, Kadyrov told the heads of law enforcement departments.
Kadyrov said that any measures could be taken against the families of militants, including blood vengeance, which is prohibited under Russian law.
‘I’ll say it plainly: if anyone attempts to take the life of an officer or a civilian, we will hold their relatives to account to the fullest extent, right up to blood vengeance, and they will have no place in the republic. Parents are obliged to check on their children: who they associate with, what they watch on their phones and where they go when they leave home. By the time they start crying and asking for forgiveness, it will be too late’, Kadyrov stressed.
According to NIYSO, security forces killed 36-year-old Turpal-Ali Mezhidov, a native of Gudermes. On Monday, the movement published a supposed wanted notice stating that he was suspected of illegal arms trafficking.
https://oc-media.org/chechen-opposition-claims-resident-who-resisted-arrest-killed-by-police/
Leaked databases show that since 2018, he has been listed in police records as a suspected extremist and, since 2023, as a terrorism suspect.
According to NIYSO, the shootout began on Monday evening at a checkpoint in Chernorechye, escalated into a pursuit and ended in the Kurchaloi district. NIYSO claims that at least some security personnel were killed, which Kadyrov did not comment on.
The movement also reported a large deployment of security forces, cordons and mass checks in the Gudermes district, as well as raids in Grozny and other settlements. They also alleged that other suspected members of the armed group may have escaped, claiming there were around 30.
The authorities have not confirmed these reports about the scale of the operation. Sources inside the republic claimed to OC Media that despite an increased number of personnel in military uniforms, the situation in Chechnya remains relatively calm.