Russia Continues Advance in Chechnya

The Russian military claimed Saturday to have seized one-third of Grozny, the Chechen capital, but the federal forces still had not reached the coveted rebel-held city center.

Elsewhere, Russian commander Col. Gen. Viktor Kazantsev said Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov had been wounded in fighting in the southern mountains. There was no immediate response from the Chechen command.

Kazantsev also said on Russian television that Gen. Mikhail Malofeyev, who disappeared Tuesday, was believed dead after suffering head wounds in fighting with rebels. Malofeyev was deputy commander of the northern group of Russian forces in Chechnya.

Russian aircraft and artillery Saturday unleashed some of their most intense strikes yet on Grozny. The raids were concentrated on eastern Grozny and rattled the ground in nearby Novaya Sunzha, just east of the capital.

Fierce street fighting was reported in all four sections of Grozny. Despite the Russian advance, the rebels still control the core of the city, the federal military command said Saturday.

Federal troops have been advancing for weeks on Grozny. They have faced strengthened rebel resistance as they have neared the center and are now taking just a few hundred yards of territory a day, the Itar-Tass news agency said, quoting military sources.

An estimated 8,000 to 25,000 civilians are believed to remain in the city, most too old or infirm to leave--or too scared to risk escape.

Also Saturday, acting President Vladimir V. Putin named a replacement for the chief of the Interior Ministry troops. The troops have a large contingent in Chechnya.

Col. Gen. Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, who was a commander during the 1994-96 Chechnya war, was named to replace Col. Gen. Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov, Putin’s press service said. Tikhomirov also was named deputy interior minister. No reason was given for the reshuffle.