MOSCOW, JANUARY 3: Russian military officials on Monday claimed Russian troops had taken key strategic heights near the Chechen capital Grozny in a move of considerable importance for the further progress of the campaign to drive out Islamic rebels, Itar-Tass news agency reported.
But Russian NTV television carried a far less favourable report on the Chechen assault. Russian soldiers in Chechnya rejected official claims that Russian forces had also taken the northwestern Grozny district of Staropromyslovski.
The NTV report said Russian special forces and pro-Russian Chechen militias had suffered setbacks in their Chechnya campaign. Casualty figures were considerably higher than those officially admitted by Russian military officials.
