DATE=1/31/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258623
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian troops say they are making
progress in the two-week battle to capture a
strategic rebel-held square near the center of
the Chechen capital, Grozny. V-O-A Moscow
correspondent Peter Heinlein reports Russia's
media are being flooded with information that
hundreds of Chechen fighters are laying down
their arms.
TEXT: /// SFX OF TV NEWS OPEN, THEN FADE TO. ///
The battle for public opinion rages on the
Russian airwaves. With Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright in Moscow to deliver a tough
message on the Chechen war, Russian news agencies
are carrying the message that the battle for
Grozny is almost won.
The respected N-T-V television channel led its
Monday newscast with word of a significant step
forward.
/// ACT OF REPORTER, THEN FADE TO. ///
The announcer says, "Federal forces have
established control over Minutka Square in
Grozny."
The report featured an interview with Deputy
Interior Ministry commander General Stanislav
Karun, who says the battle for Grozny is nearing
a decisive phase.
/// KARUN ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN UNDER TO. ///
He says, "Have you noticed that the Chechens
defending Grozny have either been killed or are,
little by little, giving up?" The general says
most of the fighters left in Grozny are
mercenaries who are trapped and have no choice
but to fight to the end.
For several days, Russian spokesmen have
repeatedly suggested that dozens of Chechen
fighters are laying down their arms and
surrendering in a relentless the face of federal
military onslaught. The reports, like most
information coming from Chechnya, could not be
independently confirmed.
But with international pressure mounting for an
end to the war, the state-run ITAR-Tass news
agency quoted Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev
describing the surrenders as "the first sign of a
breakthrough" in the conflict.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency,
however, the leader of a pro-Moscow Chechen group
called the surrender reports "untrue", and said
as far as he knows, no rebels have given up. And
a Chechen rebel website ridiculed the reports,
saying, "If the Russian are lying so desperately,
it is a sign things are going badly for them."
In a separate incident Monday, Russia's Defense
Ministry said three warplanes were lost in a
freak refueling accident at an airbase near the
war zone. A spokesman said the Sukhoi-24 swing-
wing jets were preparing for a combat mission
when a de-icing truck crashed into one of them,
triggering a fire that quickly engulfed all
three planes.
The spokesman was quoted as saying only three
jets had been lost during nearly six months of
air raids in the region, while three more had
been lost on the ground in single hour. (Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/KL
31-Jan-2000 10:18 AM EDT (31-Jan-2000 1518 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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