DATE=12/27/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-257538
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian troops are advancing cautiously into
Grozny on day-three of the final assault on the
battered Chechen capital. Correspondent Peter
Heinlein in Moscow reports Russian warplanes are also
dropping powerful bombs on suspected rebel hideouts in
the breakaway region's southern mountains.
TEXT: Federal troops are meeting stiff resistance as
they inch forward into the heart of Grozny, calling in
air and artillery strikes on suspected rebel
positions.
Russia's state-run ITAR-Tass news agency says progress
has been slow, and troops have been forced to pull
back in some cases, because roads are mined and the
rebels are well entrenched, using underground tunnels
and passageways.
But in his first comments since the final assault on
Grozny began Saturday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
said he is satisfied with the pace of the campaign.
/// PUTIN ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO...///
He says -- everything is developing according to plan
- we are doing everything we said.
The French news agency reports Chechen President Aslan
Maskhadov appeared on local television vowing to
defend Grozny to the last man.
/// OPT /// Chechen television has managed to stay on
the air throughout most of the war, using generator-
powered transmitters. But its audience is limited to
those homes that have independent power sources.
Russia cut off regular electricity supplies to
Chechnya shortly after the war began. /// END OPT ///
Chechen officials are quoted as saying 300 Russian
troops were killed in the first two-days of the
assault on Grozny. Russian military sources staunchly
deny the reports, saying they lost only four soldiers.
The Russian offensive is also gaining momentum in the
mountainous south, where most of the rebels are based.
News agencies say warplanes have begun dropping
powerful aerosol bombs on Chechen bases, sometimes
located in caves and deep trenches.
The incendiary devices release a large cloud of
flammable gas and cause massive explosions that can
clear out bunkers and other fortifications.
/// REST OPT ///
The fighting has triggered a barrage of international
criticism for what is seen as Russia's use of
indiscriminate and disproportionate force in Chechnya.
Sunday, a Clinton administration official urged
restraint, warning that Moscow risks isolating itself
from the international community.
Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov brushed aside
that criticism (Monday), saying Moscow would continue
to pursue an active foreign policy. After meeting
President Boris Yeltsin, Mr. Ivanov told reporters he
had been ordered to do everything possible to make
sure Russia does not become isolated as a result of
its Chechnya policy. (SIGNED)
NEB/PFH/GE
27-Dec-1999 09:59 AM EDT (27-Dec-1999 1459 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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