DATE=1/1/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA/CHECHNYA (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-257697
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian forces launched a fierce New Year's
Day attack on the Chechen capital, Grozny, as acting
President Vladimir Putin visited the region to boost
troop morale. V-O-A Moscow correspondent Peter
Heinlein reports monitors watching for accidental Y-
two-K missile launches detected three Russian short-
range Scuds fired into Chechnya.
TEXT: Warplanes poured bombs into the center of
Grozny and battles raged in the streets as Russia's
all-out assault on the rebel capital entered its
second week. The Russian military command says rebel
bases in southern and eastern Chechnya were also
targeted.
The Pentagon in Washington reported its New Year's Eve
vigil for possible accidental missile launches spotted
three Russian Scuds fired at Chechnya. It was the
first confirmation that Russia is using the surface-
to-surface missiles in the region, but it was not
known what the targets were. Military officials were
unavailable for comment.
Acting President Vladimir Putin, in his first full day
on the job, flew to Chechnya's second city, Gudermes,
30 kilometers east of Grozny. In a pre-dawn visit
broadcast live on Russian television, he presented
several soldiers with hunting knives and praised their
work.
/// Putin act in Russian, then fade to ///
He says "This is not just about restoring the honor
and dignity of Russia. No, this is more serious. It
is about preventing the breakup of the Russian
Federation." With his wife standing near his side,
the acting president told the troops "I want you to
know Russia appreciates what you are doing".
A quick victory in Chechnya would make the 47-year-old
former K-G-B spy almost unbeatable in presidential
elections now scheduled for late March. Mr. Putin is
considered the chief architect of the war strategy,
and has solidly backed Russian generals waging the
campaign while brushing aside Western criticism of the
offensive.
But Russian officers indicate the battle to expel
Chechen fighters from Grozny may take longer and be
more costly than previously thought.
A colonel shown on the privately owned N-T-V
television channel says rebels are putting up fierce
resistance, fighting for every street and house in the
capital. He says federal forces are losing 10
soldiers a day as they slowly advance toward the city
center, where as many as five-thousand rebels are
believed to be dug in.
Tens of thousands of civilians are also said to be
hiding in basements in the besieged capital, too
afraid to go outside. An Associated Press reporter in
Grozny Saturday told of plumes of black smoke hanging
over the city while waves of low-flying jets unleashed
their deadly cargo.
The dispatch quoted as 62-year-old woman as saying
"The planes were like snakes, streaming past over and
over. This is how we spent the New Year". (Signed)
NEB/PH/JP
01-Jan-2000 12:40 PM EDT (01-Jan-2000 1740 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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