The war in Chechnya is postponed
To Dagestan
Yesterday, Russian troops and policemen of Bislan Gantamirov continued the assault operation in Grozny. The federals claim that they have already managed to break down the organized defense and are now fighting fiercely with scattered groups of militants. The commanders of the latter acknowledge the difficulty of their situation, but claim that they are still able to provide powerful resistance to the advancing troops. Meanwhile, Shamil Basayev is planning a new invasion of Dagestan.

“Currently in Grozny, the defense of the militants is of a focal nature and does not have a continuous line,” the Russian military claims. “However, the Chechen militants are putting up fierce resistance to the assault detachments of the federal forces.” For now, the army and police control the 1st, 3rd, 4th and partially 6th microdistricts of the city, as well as the road bridge across the Sunzha. Moreover, in the first three districts, soldiers from the Ministry of Defense, internal troops and Chechen police units have already begun cleaning up.
The fiercest fighting is now taking place in the center of Grozny, especially in the Minutka Square area. The entire city is shrouded in smoke from burning houses and oil refineries and dust rising after each airstrike and artillery strike, which have been carried out continuously over the past 24 hours. This veil prevents both sides from fighting. “We must pay tribute to the militants,” said Major General Vadim Timchenko, deputy chief of the operational headquarters of the joint group of Russian troops in the North Caucasus, “they perfectly prepared the city for defense in engineering terms, turning it into a multi-layered fortress.”
In turn, the chief of the Grozny defense staff, Aslanbek Ismailov, claims that he is still monitoring the situation in the city. According to him, the main battles are taking place in the area of the cannery, in the village named after Michurin, as well as at the dairy plant. Let us recall that the feds have long announced that these facilities are under their control.
But, be that as it may, it is already obvious that the militants will not hold out for long. They are running low on ammunition, food and medicine, and it is extremely difficult to replenish supplies in the current situation. Thus, in the coming days the militants will either try to escape from the city or will be destroyed.
The last center of resistance will remain in Chechnya - the mountainous regions. The fighting there also does not subside, and the center of confrontation is still the Argun and Vedeno gorges. In addition, yesterday the military spread reports that the Chechens, blocked in the mountains, in order to distract federal troops, were again going to invade the Botlikh, Tsumadinsky and Novolaksky regions of neighboring Dagestan. The feds claim that this time they are ready to attack and will meet the enemy fully armed.
However, the Chechen militants still have a third option - negotiations. As the head of the State Council of Chechnya, Malik Saidullayev, said yesterday, through his mediation, representatives of the federal government are holding consultations in Moscow with a group of “the most famous and authoritative Chechen field commanders, whose people (about 7 thousand people) are ready to lay down their arms if certain conditions are met.” Firstly, if the feds guarantee their personal safety, and secondly, if a “soft” cleansing of the settlements they control is carried out. Saidullaev learned from personal experience what “hard” purges are - his native village of Alkhan-Yurt was completely destroyed by troops.

OLEG J-STULOV

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 6 dated January 20, 2000, p. 3