DATE=1/26/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-258447
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian forces are being hampered by heavy
snow and fierce rebel resistance as they push ahead
with their all-out assault on the Chechen capital,
Grozny. Moscow Correspondent Peter Heinlein reports
public support for the war - which until recently was
overwhelming - now appears to be fading as casualties
mount.
TEXT: A January blizzard effectively halted the
Russian advance into Grozny. Reporters say Chechen
fighters used the weather conditions to step up
attacks on federal troops around the strategic Minutka
Square, where heavy battles have been raging for days.
The French news agency quoted a young Russian officer
in the capital describing the rebels as very well
prepared and clever. Other reporters tell of well-
organized bands of no more than 15 rebel fighters
moving freely about the city, often sneaking behind
Russian lines and attacking unsuspecting soldiers from
the rear.
As death tolls mount, the government is coming in for
increasing criticism in the tightly controlled Russian
media; both for understating casualty figures and for
using the same failed military tactics that resulted
in defeat for federal troops in the last Chechen war.
A popular talk show on the privately-owned N-T-V
channel featured negative comments from some
surprising sources, including the commander of Moscow
region troops in Chechnya.
General Arkady Baskayev said federal forces are in a
difficult quandary. He says quick victory is
impossible, but a retreat would in the public eyes
look too much like a repeat of the last war's
humiliating withdrawal.
// BASKAYEV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO. ///
He says - we cannot say we will complete this war by a
certain date, but we must fight on in memory of those
who died. Then he adds - but the military tactics and
even the government's strategy toward Chechnya must
change.
Federal lawmaker Alexei Arbatov, deputy chairman of
parliament's Defense Committee, called the war - a
meat grinder. He called for negotiations with the
rebels. Even Alexander Mikhailov of the government's
war propaganda office, Rosinform, admitted he was
puzzled by the aims of the Chechen offensive.
/// MIKHAILOV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO. ///
He says - it still defies me what the strategic
thinking is behind trying to capture Grozny. He says
- why do we need it? - I do not understand.
Mr. Mikhailov says he has no doubt the military phase
of the Chechen operation will have to be ended.
Russia's military command Wednesday said at least
seven federal soldiers were killed in the latest
fighting. Official sources confirm that nearly 12-
hundred Russian troops have died since the fighting
began late last year. Independent sources say those
figures are far lower than the actual number killed.
There is also no reliable information about casualties
among Chechen fighters. Russian defense officials say
at least 10-thousand rebels have died.
Chechen sources put the figure at less than half that,
but say the number of civilians killed is far higher.
As many as 40-thousand civilians are still believed
trapped inside Grozny, hiding in basements and other
shelters in sub-zero temperatures with little food or
water as the fighting rages around them. (SIGNED)
NEB/PFH/GE/ENE/RAE
26-Jan-2000 09:44 AM EDT (26-Jan-2000 1444 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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