Russian “Akhmat” Fighters Gathered Near Ukraine’s Border, Until HIMARS Hit Them, Video

Ukrainian Defense Forces reportedly carried out a successful HIMARS strike on a training ground used by Russia’s Rosgvardia “Akhmat” special battalion in the Kursk region, according to footage published by the OSINT community Exilenova+ on May 24.

The video appears to show Ukrainian reconnaissance drones detecting Russian activity at an improvised training site near the border with Ukraine. Shortly afterward, several rockets struck the area.

According to Exilenova+, preliminary reports indicate “dozens” of Russian personnel may have been killed in the strike.

The reported HIMARS attack comes after earlier Ukrainian operations targeting “Akhmat” units, which are closely associated with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and have been deployed in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

In early May, Ukraine’s military intelligence reported that its Shamanbat special unit, which includes volunteers from Ichkeria, together with the 104th “Horyn” Territorial Defense Brigade, had carried out a months-long operation against “Akhmat” personnel between February and April 2026.

That operation reportedly relied on an agent infiltrated inside the Russian unit. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the source was a former “Akhmat” serviceman who established contact with HUR in early 2025 and was later safely extracted to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Before leaving, the agent allegedly installed a listening device inside an “Akhmat” meeting room. The device, delivered across the front line by an FPV drone, allowed Ukrainian intelligence operatives to record conversations among the unit’s command staff.

Ukraine said the intelligence collected through the operation enabled its special forces to target Kadyrov-linked fighters during movements and at concentration areas.

According to OSINT reports, the Russian unit suffered its heaviest losses since the start of the full-scale invasion during that two-month operation: 41 killed, 87 wounded, and more than 100 listed as missing.

Earlier, reports emerged that Ukrainian forces struck a Russian training and production complex in the temporarily occupied Donetsk region, killing 65 cadets of the “Sever-Akhmat” 78th Special Purpose Motorized Regiment during an operation “Akhmat’s Snow.”

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