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DATE=10/18/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-255185
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Russian forces in Chechnya are moving into 
position around the capital, Grozny. Commanders say 
some units have advanced to within seven kilometers of 
the northern edge of the city. But as V-O-A Moscow 
correspondent Peter Heinlein reports, Chechen 
defenders are confident they can resist an assault.
TEXT:  Russia is keeping up its twin military and 
media offensives as the Chechnya campaign pushes 
deeper into previously rebel-held territory. 
Armored units are reported meeting only scattered 
resistance as they inch forward from three directions 
toward Grozny.  Military leaders have hinted they 
could take the capital, but are keeping Chechen 
fighters guessing about their plans.
The deputy army chief of staff, General Valery 
Manilov, told a London news conference Monday there 
will be  no  full-scale assault on Grozny. 
The last attempt to take the capital earlier this 
decade ended in disaster, with thousands of people 
killed and federal troops eventually withdrawing in 
defeat. 
But General Manilov emphasized that Russian forces 
would continue to attack military targets, and would  
not  stop until the rebels were eliminated. 
Domestic audiences are also hearing and seeing a 
confident military leadership. The army personnel
director, Colonel-General Vladimir Kulakov, told 
reporters in Moscow there will be  no  letup in the 
current campaign.
    /// Kulakov act in Russian, in and fade under ///
He says, "All means will be used to destroy terrorists 
and bandits, wherever they may be." 
// OPT //  The Chechen forces are commonly referred to 
as "bandits" in the Russian media.
Monday's news on the state-run television also 
featured a comment from Colonel Alexander Zorin, the 
deputy army personnel commander, saying soldiers are 
voluntarily signing up for additional tours of duty.
    /// ZORIN ACT IN RUSSIAN, IN AND FADE UNDER ///
He says, "The troops are in a fighting mood.  They are 
ready to carry out the president's decision and beat 
the bandits to the end."  // END OPT //
Rebel commanders, however, were also expressing 
confidence Monday.  In comments reported by the
Associated Press from Grozny, the chief of Chechnya's 
military headquarters predicted the Russian operation 
would drag on into winter, when government supply 
lines will become easy targets for the more mobile 
Chechen fighters.
Commander Mumadi Saidayev was quoted as saying "the 
Russians are moving more cautiously this time, but 
they are being led by the same generals, using the 
same tactics," as in the failed campaign of the mid-
1990s.   (Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/LTD/WTW
18-Oct-1999 12:44 PM EDT (18-Oct-1999 1644 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.