Russia dismisses reports of soldiers killed in Grozny

Russia has dismissed as 'propaganda' reports that hundreds of soldiers were killed last night in the Chechen capital Grozny. However a senior Chechen official has said that over 300 soldiers died during a botched attempt to storm the city. As fighting continued today on the outskirts of the Chechen capital, one senior Russian general said that Grozny would fall to federal forces within a matter of days. However he insisted that storming of the city would not take place until all of the civilians have been evacuated.

Up to 30,000 Chechens are believed to be trapped in the besieged city. Meanwhile, thousands of refugees who fled Chechnya are continuing to eke out an existence in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia. The head of the European security organisation, the OSCE, has called for an urgent cease-fire in Chechnya, after seeing what he called the "gruesome sights" of the war there. He said tens of thousands of people are sheltering from the Russian bombardment of Grozny, without food, water, or heat.

While a top Chechen official has claimed that Russian forces lost over 300 soldiers in a failed bid to storm Grozny last night, Moscow is continuing to deny the reports. The Russian defence minister reiterated that there will be no storming of the Chechen capital. Earlier reports from Chechnya said that Russian forces were beaten back after a three-hour assault on the capital, Grozny. The fighting was reported to have been the fiercest of the current military campaign in the breakaway republic.

Eyewitness accounts said around 100 Russian soldiers were killed when their armoured column was attacked by Chechen rebels armed with rocket-propelled grenades near the centre of the city. The Russian military news agency said fifty soldiers had been killed. Russian tanks have not attacked Grozny since the disastrous 1994-96 Chechen war.