DATE=1/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA - CHECHNYA UPDATE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257706
BYLINE=BILL GASPERINI
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian troops are continuing a relentless
bombardment of the breakaway
Chechen republic attempting to defeat rebels whom
Moscow accuses of terrorism. Acting President
Vladimir Putin has vowed to crush the rebels no
matter what it takes. Mr. Putin's future and indeed
the political future of Russia itself may well rest on
the outcome of the war. Bill Gasperini has more from
Moscow.
TEXT: Russian forces are pounding Chechen positions
from the air and with heavy
artillery, attempting to regain the momentum they've
had in the conflict until recently.
Last week, fierce resistance by the Chechens stalled a
Russian ground offensive in the capital city of
Grozny.
Russian infantry units had hoped to take Grozny by New
Year's Day...but the Chechen rebels have again shown
they're a force to be reckoned with.
Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov vowed to fight on
despite the odds favoring the much larger Russian
force...in a television interview, he said the war has
only just begun.
Russian troops do control some parts of Grozny, a
major city which has been reduced largely to rubble by
the fierce bombardment.
But they've been unable to dislodge Chechen militants
from the city center.
Fighting is also raging in the rugged mountains to the
south, where the Russians are trying to seize several
strategic villages.
One village lies at the entrance to a mountain gorge
through which a dirt road leads to the neighboring
republic of Georgia.
Russian officials say they've already seized control
of another key road. They say both routes serve as
supply lines for the Chechen fighters.
Acting President Vladimir Putin said Saturday Russia's
military commanders have free license to do whatever
they think is necessary to overcome the Chechens.
Russia's political future rests largely on the outcome
of the war, as Mr. Putin's popularity stems from his
tough stand against the Chechens.
Mr. Putin hopes to win the presidency in his own right
in presidential elections now scheduled for March,
after Boris Yeltsin's surprise
resignation on New Year's Eve. (Signed)
NEB/BG/PLM
02-Jan-2000 06:19 AM EDT (02-Jan-2000 1119 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
