Russians Attacking Grozny? Chechen Rebels Claim Russia Has Begun Armored Assault

Chechen rebels said Russian forces launched an armored assault on the breakaway region’s capital Monday night after five days of an off-and-on informal truce.

Top Russian officials denied an offensive was under way but said one was planned within 48 hours, according to the Interfax news agency.

A separatist official accused the Russians of “grossly violating” the cease-fire, according to the Interfax news agency.

It was not immediately possible to determine the extent of any new fighting.

The Russian military, which targeted the ravaged city center with intermittent but heavy artillery fire on Monday, denied that the shooting constituted “a resumption of largescale actions.”

But many top army officials have advocated crushing the rebel resistance despite ongoing peace talks. The commander of Russian troops in Chechnya, Konstantin Pulikovsky, was quoted by Interfax as saying that the Russians would launch large-scale military operations in Grozny later this week.

Russian helicopters were dropping leaflets over the city, warning civilians to leave, Pulikovsky was quoted as saying.

Rebel fighters, estimated by Russian officials at about 2,500 strong, have controlled much of Grozny since launching a surprise offensive on Aug. 6.

At least 247 Russian soldiers have died and 1,000 have been wounded in some of the worst fighting since troops were sent into Chechnya 20 months ago to end its bid for independence. Civilians have deserted the city - which has little food or water - by the tens of thousands. More than 30,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the Kremlin sent in troops in December 1994.

Rebel officials told Russia’s Echo Moscow radio station and Interfax that fierce battles erupted around Grozny shortly before dusk on Monday.

A rebel spokesman interviewed by Interfax said the “active offensive” on the center of Grozny was launched from practically all directions. He said fighting was under way near a Russian military base and near the airport as several armored groups tried to advance into the heart of the city.

“The Chechen leadership declares … that the Russian leadership … unilaterally and grossly violating the agreement, is fully responsible for the new escalation of military operations in Grozny,” spokesman Movladi Udugov said.

A Russian military spokesman told Interfax that 100 Russian troops had abandoned their positions at roadblocks in Grozny after coming under rebel fire. Rebels marched them through the city in what the unidentified official called a humiliating show.

The latest clashes threatened to undo a shaky truce that held for five days despite each side’s accusation that the other was violating the pact.

Negotiators failed to reach any key agreements in talks in southeastern Chechnya on Monday.

Deputy commanders from the two sides decided to meet again Tuesday to work out a document overseeing the implementation of earlier military accords. The Russians insist the rebels agree to pull out their forces from Grozny.

At the Kremlin, there were signs of growing tension as President Boris Yeltsin scolded his national security chief, Alexander Lebed, entrusted with the job of settling the war.

Lebed, who made two trips to Chechnya last week, initiated the informal cease-fire.

Yeltsin’s spokesman, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said the president is not firing Interior Ministry Anatoly Kulikov, as Lebed demanded, and has ordered Lebed to present “a report and concrete proposals” on Chechnya.