Russian Troops Dig In Just Outside Chechen Capital

Russian artillery and tanks dug in atop a hill just outside Grozny, the Chechen capital, on Saturday in preparation for what Moscow said was the next phase in its campaign to wipe out Muslim insurgents.

After their deepest push yet into the breakaway republic, Russian troops were digging in on heights overlooking the city, now well within range of Russian artillery. There were no indications whether Russian commanders would try to push into Grozny, which is heavily defended by Chechen forces.

Col. Gen. Viktor Kazantsev, commander of forces in the region, said that his troops had finished creating a security zone to seal off the Muslim militants and that a second phase was underway to wipe out the bases of the insurgents.

“We will not launch strikes against peaceful villages,” he said Saturday. “We will destroy the bandits on the territory of Chechnya.”

Chechen militants said that, while the Russian troops were digging in near Grozny, their fighters struck back with a nighttime raid, crossing the Terek River and taking back a small village.

Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who led raids on villages in the neighboring Russian republic of Dagestan in the fall, said his men had killed 26 Russian troops in the attack Saturday on the village of Shchedrinsky.

Russian forces were badly defeated in a 1994-96 war in the republic, eventually withdrawing and giving Chechnya de facto independence. But Russia’s military commanders say they can defeat the insurgents this time.

The Russian military said it was making extensive progress with few losses. A military spokesman said Saturday that units of Russia’s 58th Army had seized the highway linking Grozny with Nazran, the capital of Chechnya’s western neighbor, Ingushetia, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The spokesman also said that the Chechen guerrillas suffered “serious losses” from Russian artillery and air raids on several villages Friday and Saturday.

Before its push toward Grozny, Russia had overrun Chechnya’s northern plains, halting rebel operations for a while along the Terek River. The militants have been reluctant to hit north of the river, where the plains favor the Russian tanks and big guns.

But the latest movements and claims indicated that both sides were gearing up for heavy fighting.

Kazantsev on Friday said 47 Russian troops were killed and 33 wounded since Sept. 25. At least 1,500 rebels have been killed, Kazantsev claimed. Chechen officials have said that hundreds of Russian soldiers have been killed, and they put their own losses at just a few dozen. Neither side’s claims could be independently confirmed.