Russian Troops Put on Alert in Chechnya

Federal troops, battered by surprise rebel counterattacks in Chechnya, were placed on alert Thursday and dug deep trenches in vulnerable villages to fend off new attacks.

After making steady progress against Chechen rebels since ground troops entered the separatist republic in late September, the Russian offensive stalled this week: Rebels attacked towns that Russian forces claimed to control and put up fierce resistance in Grozny, the capital, where fighters are entrenched in the center.

The Interfax news agency, citing sources in the federal command for Chechnya, said 33 Russian soldiers had been killed in the preceding 24 hours in Chechnya. Until recently, Russian forces claimed losses of no more than one or two soldiers a day.

Russia claimed to have retaken control of the towns of Argun and Shali this week. But fighting continued in Gudermes, Chechnya’s second-largest city, said Lt. Col. Anatoly Yurasov, the deputy head of an Interior Ministry mobile unit.

Russian forces continued heavy shelling of Grozny, and troops were fighting rebels from trenches in some of the city’s neighborhoods, Interfax reported, citing military sources. The report described the situation in Grozny as essentially unchanged from recent days.

In Shali and Argun, Russian troops dug trenches in preparation for possibly having to fend off rebels again, NTV television reported. Other units surrounded rebel formations in four other towns in the Shali region, Interfax said.

After the rebels’ weekend attacks, all military checkpoints and stations in Russian-controlled areas of Chechnya were placed on alert and given additional ammunition and armored vehicles, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.