Officially 22 Unknown Date 11 May 2000 | Officially 18 killed, 3 wounded, 1 missing Unknown Result Chechen victory | |
Combatants Russia, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Similar Second Chechen War, 2000 Zhani‑Vedeno ambush, Battle of Komsomolskoye, War of Dagestan, Battle for Height 776 | ||
Galashki ambush took place of May 11, 2000, when the separatist militants from the group of Shamil Basayev, led by a Galashki native Ruslan Khuchbarov, attacked and destroyed a convoy of the Russian Interior Ministry paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia. The incident was the first major act of violence linked to the Second Chechen War in Ingushetia and the first major rebel raid outside the neighbouring Chechnya since war began in 1999.
According to the Russian sources, in the convoy there were 22 Internal Troops servicemen from Altai Krai, returning aboard two military trucks to Vladikavkaz, capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, having completed a tour of duty in Ingushetia. At about 12 am, at a highway near the village of Galashki, a group of rebels located in the woods overlooking the road suddenly opened fire on them with grenade launchers and machine guns (some sources also mention mortar and sniper fire), disabling the first truck and then quickly obliterating the whole convoy. Following their attack, the rebels managed to escape the pursuit and vanished into the forest near the village of Bamut in Chechnya.
According to the Chechen separatist website Kavkaz Center, three heavy trucks and two BTR armored vehicles were destroyed, while "not less than 40" Russian soldiers were killed by an unspecified unit of fighters from the Southwestern Front of the Chechen Armed Forces and a group of Caucasian volunteers.