CHECHNYA: GROZNY: FIERCE ASSAULT BEGINS BY RUSSIAN TROOPS

(31 Dec 1994) Russian/Nat Russia’s ferocious assault aerial and ground assault on Grozny began in the early hours of Saturday. APTV cameras were there when the first shells landed. As the Russians began their advance, artillery shells and rockets smashed into downtown Grozny at a rate of two to three a minute. The assault began this morning from the direction of Alkhan-Kala, a strategic village about nine miles northwest of Grozny. Early in the morning, heavy fighting was reported at Chechen positions two to three miles from the city centre. But later, some Russian troops apparently succeeded in penetrating the Chechen defences. No Chechen defenders were in sight in the city centre or around President Dzhokhar Dudayev’s palace. In the city centre, where more buildings lay flattened, some Chechens were caught outside as the first shells began to fall. They hurried inside, many taking shelter in basements unde