Chechen security services, under the command of Ramzan Kadyrov, suffered their highest casualties in three years when a convoy carrying policemen was ambushed by militants, killing 9 and injuring 10 officers. The troops were to take part in joint Chechen-Ingush special operations that have been ongoing since May 26 during which at least 20 militants have been killed according to the authorities. The attack called into question the effectiveness of the ongoing operations whose purpose was to flush out and destroy militants from the remote mountainous region located along the administrative border between Chechnya and Ingushetia.

In a separate incident, militants attacked a Russian military helicopter injuring an officer onboard. The efficiency and professionalism with which the latest attacks were executed along with a string of high-profile assassination attempts in Ingushetia and Dagestan demonstrate the militants’ organization and have left local and federal authorities looking increasingly ineffective. Militants have also extended the war front into cyber-space hacking into Chechen and Ingush government sites, which left them inaccessible for almost two weeks.

The militant attacks are especially damaging for Chechnya’s strongman president Ramzan Kadyrov who lobbied hard for an end to the counter-terror regime (CTO) claiming that there was no more than a band of 50 armed gunmen hiding out in the woods.

In Chechnya, rising casualties have also resulted in criticism of Kadyrov’s and Chechen Interior Minister’s handling of special operations that began in May. Particularly, the disproportionately high number of casualties of Chechen compared to Ingush policemen is creating an impression that young Chechen soldiers are being sent to other republics to die.

President Yevkurov regained consciousness almost two weeks after he was severely wounded during an assassination attempt on June 22. Ingush Press-Secretary Adam Gazdiev confirmed reports that Yevkurov had regained consciousness but warned that full recovery would take many weeks due to the serious nature of Yevkurov’s injuries. 

Meanwhile, President Medvedev signed a decree officially making Rashid Gaysanov acting president of Ingushetia. The decree, although legally needless because the constitution already designates the prime-minister acting President, effectively ended any possibility that former President Aushev would return to fill in for Yevkurov during his absence. Ruslan Aushev, Ingushetia’s first president, enjoys immense popularity at home for his ability to stand up to the Kremlin, but was forced to resign after falling out with then president Vladimir Putin.

Also, in Dagestan, one police officer was killed and eight civilians injured when a local police office building was attacked. Gunmen first opened fire at the building and then detonated an explosive in a car parked nearby when other policemen and civilians gathered to inspect the building.

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