Operation Snow of Akhmat: 65 Kadyrov Fighters Eliminated

May 20, 2026May 21, 2026

Operators of the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces, together with the Security Service of Ukraine, carried out Operation Snow of Akhmat on the night of May 20. The result: 65 fighters from Ramzan Kadyrov’s 78th Regiment eliminated. The target was the so-called “Center of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences” in the city of Snizhne, in the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk Oblast — a complex of nearly 2,500 square meters housing ammunition and drone component stockpiles, as well as a barracks for personnel training in drone operations.

Confirmed killed: 65. Wounded count is still being verified. Four “Tiger” armored vehicles in the facility’s repair bays were destroyed. Among those eliminated: the so-called “doctor of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences”, Lieutenant Colonel Buryi.

A Word on Russian “Academics”

This is a good moment to say something specifically about Orc¹ “academies”, “academics”, “professors”, and “doctors of science”. Under their legislation, any academic degree comes with significant privileges and monthly bonuses on top of the military salary. So the enemy’s extraordinary number of “scientists” is standard practice — from defense ministers and chiefs of staff down to lower-ranking commanders.

Former enemy Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu holds a “candidate of sciences” degree. Current Defense Minister Andrei Belousov is a “doctor of sciences”. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov is both a “professor” and an “academician”. Akhmat unit commander Apti Alaudinov and Kadyrov’s right hand Magomed Daudov are “candidates of sciences”. Their actual knowledge, however, does not exceed the level of first-year undergraduates — and in some areas is likely lower. So the elimination of a Russian “doctor of sciences” would make a great headline, but for us it is just another Russian lieutenant colonel down.

Confirmation from the commander

In total, 11 strike drones with 100-kilogram warheads were used against the Russian drone training center.

Below is the statement posted by USF² Commander Robert “Magyar” Brovdi alongside the published video:

“Snow of Akhmat”: USF Birds destroyed the enemy pilot training den and 65 special forces cadets of the 78th Special Purpose Regiment ‘Sever-Akhmat’, the Center of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences in Snizhne, temporarily occupied Donetsk Oblast.
Confirmed eliminated: 65 cadets and the center commander, Lt. Col. ‘Buryi’, doctor of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences. Wounded count is being verified, gathering data from hospitals.

Operation “Snow of Akhmat” was carefully prepared and coordinated by the USF Deep Strike Center together with the intelligence unit of the 1st Separate Center and the SBU.

On the night of May 20, Birds of the 1st Separate USF Center executed 11 planned middle-strike hits (100 kg warheads) against the training and production complex and field deployment point of the 78th Motorized Special Purpose Regiment ‘Sever-Akhmat’ named after A.A. Kadyrov, operating as part of the 42nd Division of the worm army.

The main two-story complex, 2,484 square meters, contained UAV and warhead assembly facilities and a personnel floor.

The ammunition stockpile in the basement added some unforgettable impressions for the worms present on site.

Three such training centers of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences have been deployed in the temporarily occupied territories. Two remain. For now.

¹Orcs – a common term for Russians who support or participate in the armed aggression against Ukraine. Dehumanizing? Yes. Accurate? Also yes.

²USF – Unmanned Systems Forces, Ukraine’s newly established branch of the Armed Forces. No, not the U.S. Navy — in Ukraine USF means those who destroy Russian bombers, not those who park aircraft carriers.