RUSSIA: COLUMN OF RUSSIAN TROOPS CROSSES TEREK RIVER AND MOVES WITHIN 15 KM OF GROZNY

Record ID: 588482

  • Title: RUSSIA: COLUMN OF RUSSIAN TROOPS CROSSES TEREK RIVER AND MOVES WITHIN 15 KM OF GROZNY
  • Date: 16th December 1994
  • Summary: TOLSHOI-YURT, MOSCOW, NOVO-SHURVOI AND GROZNY, RUSSIA (DECEMBER 16, 1994)(REUTERS TELEVISION - AVAILABLE ALL) TOLSHOI-YURT 1. GV/SV RUSSIAN TANKS AND MILITARY VEHICLES ON THE MOVE (4 SHOTS) 0.33 4. SV/PAN SOLDIERS CLEANING WEAPONS (4 SHOTS)0.57 5. SV CIVILIANS WALK PAST TANK/GV OF BRIDGE OVER TEREK RIVER/ SMOKE RISING IN BACKGROUND (5 SHOTS)1.17 MOSCOW 6. SV/PAN UNITED STATES VICE-PRESIDENT AL GORE MEETING RUSSIAN PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN/CU YELTSIN/GV MEETING (3 SHOTS) 1.31 7. SV GORE SAYING CONFLICT IN CHECHENYA IS AN INTERNAL PROBLEM (ENGLISH) 1.51 NOVO-SHURVOI 8. SV CHECHEN WOMEN DEMONSTRATING, CHANTING, CLAPPING, BANNERS 1.56 9. SV IVAN BABICHEV AND COLONEL GENNADY KONDALIN TALKING TO WOMEN 2.02 10. SV KONDALIN SAYS HE WILL NOT SHOOT AGAINST CIVILIANS (RUSSIAN) 2.09 11. SV CHECHEN WOMEN CRYING (2 SHOTS) 2.19 12. MCU COMMANDER IVAN BABICHEV SAYING THE OPERATION CONTRADICTED THE CONSTITUTION (RUSSIAN) 2.27 13. SV/TRACK KONDALIN EMBRACING CHECHEN WOMEN/WALKING WITH THEM (2 SHOTS) 2.51 GROZNY 14. GV/SV RESIDENTS AT RALLY/SV SOLDIERS LOYAL TO DUDAYEV AT RALLY (4 SHOTS) 3.08 15. SLV/SV YOUNG BOY WITH GUN ADDRESSING RALLY (2 SHOTS) 3.21 16. GV PEOPLE AT MARKET/SV SOLDIER (2 SHOTS) 3.28 17. SV PILES OF RUBBISH ON THE STREET (2 SHOTS) 3.37 18. SV CIVILIANS/SLV DOGS AND CATS NOSING THROUGH RUBBISH (2 SHOTS) 3.45 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 31st December 1994 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: GROZNY, TOLSTOI-YURT, NOVO-SHURVOI AND MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • City:
  • Country: Russia
  • Reuters ID: LVA1WSBMPWH3VJE00YOMRK4NPPD9
  • Story Text: A column of Russian troops with armoured support crossed the Terek river at Tolstoi-Yurt and moved within 15 kilometres (10 miles) of the Chechen capital of Grozny on Friday (December 16).

    A column of tanks and armoured personnel carriers from the north Ossetian town of Mozdok joined another from Namenskoye, north-east of Grozny, stopping only briefly before proceeding further.

    There was no immediate sign that the Russian were advancing closer to the city to complete sealing off its 400,000 people.

    Overnight shelling had died down by mid-morning.

    On Thursday, Russian President Boris Yeltsin postponed a probable head-on battle between his troops and the rebel forces by extending a deadline for the Chechens to disarm by another 48 hours. The deadline is due to run out at midnight (2100 GMT) on Saturday.

    Yeltsin offered Dudayev high-level talks as a final attempt to avert a full-scale war.

    Yeltsin's offer was followed by a demand that Dudayev's forces disarm. The separatist leader has up to now insisted that Russia should pull out its thousands of troops first.

    Speaking in Moscow, visiting United States (U.S.) Vice-President Al Gore said the United States hoped a political solution can be found to resolve the crisis. Gore later met Yeltsin at the Kremlin.

    Moscow says Russia plans to tie a noose around Grozny and will not storm the city. But it has warned the Chechen fighters that its patience is wearing thin.

    In a further twist to the crisis a Russian army general in Chechnya declared on Friday he would not move his armoured column any further towards the capital Grozny because the operation was "against the constitution".

    General Ivan Babichev, one of the commanders of the convoy moving from the west on Grozny, made his declaration to about 1,000 Chechens in Novo-Shurvoi, a village, about 35 km (20 miles) from the capital.

    "It is not our fault that we are here. We did not want this," Babichev told the crowd of mostly women and elderly Chechens. "They (Russian leaders) can condemn us, but we are not going to shoot.

    We're not going to use tanks against the people, We are not going any further," said Babichev.

    Babichev, whose declaration was filmed by Reuters Television, was accompanied by army colonel Gennady Kondalin who expressed similar feelings.

    Grozny itself was relatively quiet on Friday though heavily armed patrols remained in the streets and fighting continued sporadically along the frontlines.

    A ceasefire appeared in sight after Chechen separatist leader Dzhokhar Dudayev ordered his troops to pull back one kilometre from all frontline positions and to cease firing on Russian troops.


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