Yeltsin Demands Withdrawal Date From Chechnya : Russia: In an effort to assert control over the crisis, the president orders his top ministers to set a date for end of army action. In Grozny, indications of new assault mount.

As shelling reached new levels of fiery destruction in the capital of rebellious Chechnya on Friday, President Boris N. Yeltsin demanded that a date be set for the end of Russian army actions there and insisted on confirmation that his command to stop the bombing of Grozny had been obeyed.

The president’s orders at the start of a Security Council meeting were the clearest sign yet that Yeltsin’s control over the month-old Russian offensive in the separatist region has been shaky at best.

Yeltsin has appeared to lack reliable information about military moves in the largely Muslim region of 1 million people, particularly about the civilian deaths caused by Russian bombing that continued despite his public order to stop it last week.

“We must clear up why we have such an ambiguous picture of whether the bombing of Grozny was stopped in accordance with my decision or wasn’t,” Yeltsin told the council, which is made up of a dozen top ministers and aides. Looking at Defense Minister Pavel S. Grachev, he added, “And I want to hear absolutely precise information from the defense minister.”

He also told the council that it must decide on when regular army forces will be pulled out of Chechnya and replaced by police troops focusing more on law and order, telling it to “set the date for the transfer.” It was not clear what date the council had proposed, if any.

Despite Yeltsin’s evident dissatisfaction with how the war has been going, he and the Security Council gave no sign of backing away from the offensive that has cost hundreds of civilian lives and, according to the latest official figures, left at least 140 Russian soldiers dead.

Instead, the council declared that the time was not ripe for peace talks and that Russian attacks will intensify.

“Without abandoning efforts to seek a political settlement, it is vital as soon as possible to overcome armed resistance and wipe out illegal armed groups,” a Security Council statement said.

*

In and around Grozny, indications mounted that Russian troops were preparing a new ground assault on the besieged city despite the disastrous failure of a New Year’s Eve storming of the capital.

Flames poured from half a dozen buildings in downtown Grozny after a day of brutal shelling that left terrorized residents huddled in their basements. A bridge leading to the presidential palace was blown up, and flames spewed from a large puncture wound in one central apartment building.

At sunset, the whistle of warplanes followed by the deep bass booming of exploding bombs could be heard all over the greater Grozny area from five miles away.

“They’ve already used every kind of weapon on Earth against us except nuclear weapons,” said Osman Disigunov, 32, a Chechen tractor mechanic who had joined the battle to keep the Russians from breaking through the lines at the eastern city of Argun. “But Allah is with us and so is the Chechen spirit. We will never lie down for a master.”

Russian forces attacked Argun with tanks, cannon and bombs as they stepped up the punishing artillery bombardment of Grozny.

According to Chechen fighters, two trucks from a Russian division now camped about two miles north of Argun were dispatched southward Friday morning but were forced to retreat after a firefight with rebel forces that prevented them from entering the town.

The two trucks were destroyed and at least 15 Russian soldiers were killed, said Israel Abdulhajiyev, head of the Chechen KGB in Argun, a farming town about 10 miles east of Grozny. One Chechen was killed and one wounded, he added.

“They want to encircle Grozny, but first they wanted to encircle Argun, but the storm failed,” Abdulhajiyev said. “They’re shelling now, and I suggest you leave here as soon as possible.”

As he spoke, artillery north of Argun began spitting like giant firecrackers. A few minutes later, bombing began in two areas east of Argun.

*

Trucks laden with refugees’ furniture rumbled down the only open road that still leads out of Grozny. At one crossroads, the tangled and scorched wreckage of what had been a market stood deserted. After three Russian bombings of outdoor markets within the last week, people are afraid to congregate, sure that any collection of cars is likely to draw an aerial attack.

Chechen fighters said they believe that the expected Russian assault by artillery and paratroopers will be aimed at extricating several groups of Russian armor and troops who entered Grozny and then found themselves surrounded by Chechen militants.

“They say they have encircled us, but they are encircled themselves,” said Ibragim Abdulayev, a Chechen fighter.

Chechen armored cars and tanks were reportedly moving forward from the center of Grozny to meet the expected invaders.

As usual, official Russian information painted the opposite picture from the Chechen reports and what could be gleaned on the ground. The government said that Russian troops continued a steady advance toward the presidential palace in central Grozny and that they had knocked out most of the Chechen fighters’ heaviest weapons.

Goldberg reported from Moscow, Efron from Grozny.