The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has denied that his country's forces had anything to do with yesterday's attack on a market in the Chechen capital in which at least 68 people were killed. Mr. Putin's comments, made while attending a European meeting in Helsinki, contradict an earlier Russian admission of responsibility. The Russian military said that they had carried out the attack in Grozny as part of what they called a special operation; they said that there were no civilian casualties. Mr. Putin now says that armed bandits were responsible.
Chechen military leaders earlier revised upwards the number of people killed in the attack. They say that shelling killed 137 people and injured 260 others. Chechen medical services said that the shelling also hit a nearby maternity hospital. The attack has raised fears that Moscow has begun strong military tactics to try to defeat Chechen rebels who are seeking independence from Russia.
