Editing Second Chechen War (section)

==1999–2000 Russian offensive==
===Air war===
{{Main|1999 Russian bombing of Chechnya}}
{{See also|List of Russian aircraft losses in the Second Chechen War}}
In late August and early September 1999, Russia mounted a massive [[Aerial warfare|aerial campaign]] over Chechnya, with the stated aim of wiping out militants who invaded Dagestan earlier in the same month. On 26 August 1999, Russia acknowledged bombing raids in Chechnya.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9908/26/russia.chechnya/ |title=Russia acknowledges bombing raids in Chechnya |website=[[CNN]] |access-date= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000919000313/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9908/26/russia.chechnya/ |archive-date=19 September 2000 }}, CNN, 26 August 1999</ref> The Russian air strikes were reported to have forced at least 100,000 Chechens to flee their homes to safety; the neighbouring region of Ingushetia was reported to have appealed for United Nations aid to deal with tens of thousands of refugees.<ref>[http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0927/russia.html Russia launches more air strikes against Chechnya] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002221916/http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0927/russia.html |date=2 October 2012 }}, RTÉ news, 27 September 1999</ref> On 2 October 1999, Russia's [[Ministry of Extraordinary Situations (Russian Federation)|Ministry of Emergency Situations]] reported that 78,000 people had fled the air strikes in Chechnya; most of them went to [[Ingushetia]], where they arrived at a rate of 5,000 to 6,000 a day.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

As of 22 September 1999, Deputy [[Minister of Internal Affairs (Russia)|Interior Minister]] Igor Zubov said that Russian troops had surrounded Chechnya and were prepared to retake the region, but the military planners were advising against a ground invasion because of the likelihood of heavy Russian casualties.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

===Land war===
[[File:Mass grave in Chechnya.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A [[Mass graves in Chechnya|mass grave in Chechnya]]]]

The Chechen conflict entered a new phase on 1 October 1999, when Russia's new Prime Minister [[Vladimir Putin]] declared the authority of Chechen President [[Aslan Maskhadov]] and his parliament illegitimate.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} At this time, Putin announced that Russian troops would initiate a land war but progress only as far as the [[Terek River]], which cuts the northern third of Chechnya off from the rest of the republic. Putin's stated intention was to take control of Chechnya's northern plain and establish a ''[[Cordon sanitaire (politics)|cordon sanitaire]]'' against further Chechen aggression; he later recalled that the cordon alone was "pointless and technically impossible," apparently because of Chechnya's rugged terrain. According to Russian accounts, Putin accelerated a plan for a major crackdown against Chechnya that had been drawn up months earlier.<ref>David Hoffman [http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/63/251.html Miscalculations Paved Path to Chechen War] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171802/http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/63/251.html |date=3 March 2016 }} ''[[Washington Post]]'', 20 March 2000</ref>

The Russian army moved with ease in the wide open spaces of northern Chechnya{{Citation needed|date=July 2024|reason=The latter part of this sentence is sourced, the prior is not.}} and reached the Terek River on 5 October 1999. On this day, a bus filled with refugees was reportedly hit by a Russian [[Shell (projectile)|tank shell]], killing at least 11 civilians;<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9910/07/chechnya.bus/ Refugee bus reportedly shelled by Russian tank] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218053859/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9910/07/chechnya.bus/ |date=18 December 2008 }}  CNN, 7 October 1999</ref> two days later, Russian [[Su-24]] [[fighter bomber]]s dropped [[cluster bomb]]s on the village of [[Elistanzhi]], [[Elistanzhi cluster bomb attack|killing some 35 people]].<ref name="villagers">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080115001724/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19991011/ai_n14278495 Russian warplanes kill dozens of villagers] [[The Independent]], 11 October 1999</ref> On 10 October 1999, Maskhadov outlined a peace plan offering a crackdown on renegade warlords;<ref name="villagers"/> the offer was rejected by the Russian side. He also appealed to [[NATO]] to help end fighting between his forces and Russian troops, without effect.<ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19991009/ige09005.html Russia to 'display' truth on Chechnya] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212032853/http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19991009/ige09005.html |date=12 December 2008 }}, Reuters, 9 October 1999</ref>

On 12 October 1999, the Russian forces crossed the Terek and began a two-pronged advance on the capital Grozny to the south. Hoping to avoid the significant casualties that plagued the first Chechen War, the Russians advanced slowly and in force, making extensive use of [[artillery]] and [[air power]] in an attempt to soften Chechen defences. Many thousands of civilians fled the Russian advance, leaving Chechnya for neighbouring Russian republics. Their numbers were later estimated to reach 200,000 to 350,000, out of the approximately 800,000 residents of the Chechen Republic. The Russians appeared to be taking no chances with the Chechen population in its rear areas, setting up "[[filtration camp system in Chechnya|filtration camps]]" in October in northern Chechnya for detaining suspected members of ''bandformirovaniya'' militant formations (literally: "bandit formations"). {{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

On 15 October 1999, Russian forces took control of a strategic ridge within artillery range of the Chechen capital Grozny after mounting an intense tank and artillery barrage against Chechen fighters. In response, President Maskhadov declared a ''[[Ghazw|gazavat]]'' ([[religious war|holy war]]) to confront the approaching Russian army. [[Martial law]] was declared in Ichkeria and [[Military reserves|reservists]] were called, but no martial law or [[state of emergency]] had been declared in Chechnya or Russia by the Russian government.<ref>[http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2005/Feb/ChamberjudgmentsChechencases2422005.htm CHAMBER JUDGMENTS IN SIX APPLICATIONS AGAINST RUSSIA] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222211935/http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2005/Feb/ChamberjudgmentsChechencases2422005.htm |date=22 December 2009 }} [[European Court of Human Rights]], 24 February 2005</ref> The next day, Russian forces captured the strategic [[Tersky Heights]], within sight of Grozny, dislodging 200 entrenched Chechen fighters. After heavy fighting, Russia seized the Chechen base in the village of [[Goragorsky]], west of the city.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/475791.stm Europe: Russians 'within sight' of Grozny] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917004004/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/475791.stm |date=17 September 2016 }} BBC News, 16 October 1999</ref>

[[image:Ханкала 2001 год.jpg|thumb|Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Kvashnin at the headquarters of the group "West" together with [[Valery Gerasimov]] and [[Alexey Kim]], [[Urus-Martan]], 2000.]]
On 21 October 1999, a Russian [[Scud]] [[short-range ballistic missile]] strike on the central Grozny marketplace [[Grozny marketplace attack|killed more than 140 people]], including many women and children, and left hundreds more wounded. A Russian spokesman said the busy market was targeted because it was used by separatists as an arms [[bazaar]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} Eight days later, Russian aircraft carried out a rocket attack on a large convoy of refugees heading into Ingushetia, [[Baku-Rostov highway bombing|killing at least 25 civilians]] including [[Red Cross]] workers and journalists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crimesofwar.org/expert/chech-lohman.html |title=Crimes Of War Project > Expert Analysis |access-date=10 January 2008 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010725223509/http://www.crimesofwar.org/expert/chech-lohman.html |archive-date=25 July 2001 }}</ref> Two days later Russian forces conducted a heavy artillery and rocket attack on [[Samashki]]; some claimed that civilians were killed in Samashki in revenge for the heavy casualties suffered there by Russian forces during the first war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2000/rp00-014.pdf |title=The Conflict in Chechnya |date=7 February 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000824155856/http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2000/rp00-014.pdf |archive-date=24 August 2000 }}</ref>

On 12 November 1999, the [[Russian flag]] was raised over Chechnya's second largest city, [[Gudermes]], when the local Chechen commanders, the [[Yamadayev brothers]], defected to the federal side; the Russians also entered the bombed-out former Cossack village of [[Assinovskaya]]. The fighting in and around Kulary continued until January 2000. On 17 November 1999, Russian soldiers dislodged separatists in [[Bamut]], the symbolic separatist stronghold in the first war; dozens of Chechen fighters and many civilians were reported killed, and the village was levelled in the [[thermobaric weapon|FAE]] bombing. Two days later, after a failed attempt five days earlier, Russian forces managed to capture the village of [[Achkhoy-Martan]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

On 26 November 1999, Deputy Army [[Chief of staff (military)|Chief of Staff]] [[Valery Manilov]] said that phase two of the Chechnya campaign was just about complete, and a final third phase was about to begin. According to Manilov, the aim of the third phase was to destroy "bandit groups" in the mountains. A few days later Russia's Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said Russian forces might need up to three more months to complete their military campaign in Chechnya, while some generals said the offensive could be over by New Year's Day. The next day the Chechens briefly recaptured the town of [[Novogroznensky]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/597594.stm Can Russia win the Chechen war?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609014018/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/597594.stm |date=9 June 2016 }} BBC News, 10 January 2000</ref>

On 1 December 1999, after weeks of heavy fighting, Russian forces under [[Major General]] [[Vladimir Shamanov]] took control of [[Alkhan-Yurt]], a village just south of Grozny. The Chechen and foreign fighters inflicted heavy losses on the Russian forces, reportedly killing more than 70 Russian soldiers before retreating,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/russia_chechnya2/index.htm#TopOfPage|title=Russia/Chechnya: "No Happiness Remains": Civilian Killings, Pillage, And Rape In Alkhan-Yurt, Chechnya|publisher=Hrw.org|access-date=17 October 2011|archive-date=13 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313074554/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/russia_chechnya2/index.htm#TopOfPage|url-status=live}}</ref> suffering heavy losses of their own.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.army.lv/?s=79&id=658|title=A letter of Sgt. S.Durov|publisher=Army.lv|access-date=17 October 2011|archive-date=20 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320112816/http://www.army.lv/?s=79&id=658|url-status=dead}}</ref> On the same day, Chechen separatist forces began carrying out a series of counter-attacks against federal troops in several villages as well as in the outskirts of Gudermes. Chechen fighters in [[Argun, Chechen Republic|Argun]], a small town five kilometres east of Grozny, put up some of the strongest resistance to federal troops since the start of Moscow's military offensive.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} The separatists in the town of [[Urus-Martan]] also offered fierce resistance, employing [[guerilla tactics]] Russia had been anxious to avoid; by 9 December 1999, Russian forces were still bombarding Urus-Martan, although Chechen commanders said their fighters had already pulled out.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

On 4 December 1999, the commander of Russian forces in the North Caucasus, General [[Viktor Kazantsev]], claimed that Grozny was fully blockaded by Russian troops. The Russian military's next task was the seizure of the town of [[Shali, Chechen Republic|Shali]], 20 kilometres south-east of the capital, one of the last remaining separatist-held towns apart from Grozny. Russian troops started by capturing two bridges that link Shali to the capital, and by 11 December 1999, Russian troops had encircled Shali and were slowly forcing separatists out. By mid-December the Russian military was concentrating attacks in southern parts of Chechnya and preparing to launch another offensive from Dagestan.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

===Siege of Grozny===
{{Main|Battle of Grozny (1999–2000)}}
[[File:Russian Army soldiers in Khankala, Chechnya.jpg|thumb|Russian Army soldiers in [[Khankala]], Chechnya]]
The Russian [[Battle of Grozny (1999–2000)|assault on Grozny]] began in early December, accompanied by a struggle for neighbouring settlements. The battle ended when the Russian army seized the city on 2 February 2000. According to official Russian figures, at least 134 federal troops and an unknown number of pro-Russian militiamen died in Grozny. The separatist forces also suffered heavy losses, including losing several top commanders. Russian Defense Minister [[Igor Sergeyev]] said that 1,500 separatists were killed trying to leave Grozny. The separatists said they lost at least 500 fighters in the [[mine field]] at [[Alkhan-Kala]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/02/04/russia.chechnya.01/index.html |title=Russia may withdraw some troops from Chechnya |date=4 February 2000 |work=CNN |access-date=9 December 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041209160644/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/02/04/russia.chechnya.01/index.html |archive-date=9 December 2004 }}</ref> The siege and fighting devastated the capital like no other European city since [[World War II]]. In 2003, the United Nations called Grozny the most destroyed city on Earth.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6414603.stm |title=Scars remain amid Chechen revival |work=BBC News |date=3 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731041611/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6414603.stm |archive-date=31 July 2016}}</ref> The Russians also suffered heavy losses as they advanced elsewhere, and from Chechen counterattacks and convoy ambushes. On 26 January 2000, the Russian government announced that 1,173 servicemen had been killed in Chechnya since October,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/618971.stm|title=Russia admits heavy casualties|date=26 January 2000|access-date=10 June 2006|work=BBC News|archive-date=10 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210074452/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/618971.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> more than double the 544 killed reported just 19 days earlier.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/592919.stm|title=Russian army battered in Grozny|date=6 January 2000|access-date=10 June 2006|work=BBC News|archive-date=14 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080814031601/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/592919.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Battle for the mountains===
Heavy fighting accompanied by massive shelling and bombing continued through the winter of 2000 in the mountainous south of Chechnya, particularly in the areas around Argun, [[Vedeno]] and [[Shatoy]], where fighting involving Russian [[paratroopers]] had raged since 1999.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

On 9 February 2000, a Russian tactical missile hit a crowd of people who had come to the local administration building in Shali, a town previously declared as one of the "safe areas", to collect their pensions. The attack was a response to a report that a group of fighters had entered the town. The missile is estimated to have killed some 150 civilians, and was followed by an attack by combat helicopters causing further casualties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crimesofwar.org/expert/chech-oleg.html |author=Oleg Orlov |title=War Crimes and Human Rights Violations in Chechnya |work=crimesofwar.org |date=26 May 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222152431/http://www.crimesofwar.org/expert/chech-oleg.html |archive-date=22 February 2011}}</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] called on the Russian military to stop using FAE, known in Russia as "[[vacuum bombs]]", in Chechnya, concerned about the large number of civilian casualties caused by what it called "widespread and often indiscriminate bombing and shelling by Russian forces".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/644087.stm |title=Russians urged to stop 'vacuum' bombings |work=BBC News |date=15 February 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091454/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/644087.stm |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> On 18 February 2000, a Russian army transport helicopter was shot down in the south, killing 15 men aboard, Russian Interior Minister [[Vladimir Rushailo]] announced.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/648895.stm |title=Chechens down Russian helicopter |work=BBC News |date=19 February 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115101006/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/648895.stm |archive-date=15 January 2009 }}</ref>

[[File:После боя. БТР, подбитый боевиками.jpg|thumb|left|[[2000 Zhani-Vedeno ambush|Zhani-Vedeno ambush]], March 2000]]

On 29 February 2000, United Army Group commander [[Gennady Troshev]] said that "the counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya is over. It will take a couple of weeks longer to pick up splinter groups now." Russia's Defense Minister, [[Marshal of the Russian Federation]] [[Igor Sergeyev]], evaluated the numerical strength of the separatists at between 2,000 and 2,500 men, "scattered all over Chechnya." On the same day, a Russian [[Russian Airborne Troops|VDV]] paratroop company from [[Pskov]] was [[Battle of Hill 776|attacked by Chechen and Arab fighters]] near the village of [[Ulus-Kert]] in Chechnya's southern lowlands; at least 84 Russian soldiers were killed in the especially heavy fighting.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} The official newspaper of the [[Russian Ministry of Defense]] reported that at least 659 separatists were killed, including 200 from the Middle East, figures which they said were based on radio-intercept data, intelligence reports, eyewitnesses, local residents and captured Chechens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/JulAug01/JulAug01/bobja01.pdf |title=Reassessing Strategy: A Historical Examination |publisher=Usacac.army.mil |date=11 October 2011 |access-date=17 October 2011 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721094635/http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/JulAug01/JulAug01/bobja01.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref> On 2 March 2000, an [[OMON]] unit from [[Podolsk]] opened fire on a unit from [[Sergiyev Posad]] in Grozny; at least 24 Russian servicemen were [[Grozny OMON fratricide incident|killed in the incident]].

[[File:31 03 00 пермяки.jpg|thumb|Fallen Russian soldiers in the Zhani-Vedeno ambush]]

In March a large group of more than 1,000 Chechen fighters, led by field commander [[Ruslan Gelayev]], pursued since their withdrawal from Grozny, [[Battle of Komsomolskoye|entered the village of Komsomolskoye]] in the Chechen foothills and held off a full-scale Russian attack on the town for over two weeks;{{Citation needed|reason=please provide a reliable source for this dubious assertion|date=June 2009}} they suffered hundreds of casualties,{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} while the Russians admitted to more than 50 killed. On 29 March 2000, about 23 Russian soldiers were killed in a [[2000 Zhani-Vedeno ambush|separatist ambush on an OMON convoy]] from [[Perm, Russia|Perm]] in Zhani-Vedeno.

On 23 April 2000, a 22-vehicle convoy carrying ammunition and other supplies to an [[Airborne forces|airborne unit]] was ambushed near [[Serzhen-Yurt]] in the Vedeno Gorge by an estimated 80 to 100 "bandits", according to General Troshev. In the ensuing four-hour battle the federal side lost 15 government soldiers, according to the Russian defence minister. General Troshev told the press that the bodies of four separatist fighters were found. The Russian Airborne Troops headquarters later stated that 20 separatists were killed and two taken prisoner.<ref>{{cite web |author=Captain Adam Geibel |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDF/is_1_31/ai_78974282 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529015401/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDF/is_1_31/ai_78974282 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 May 2012 |title=Ambush at Serzhen Yurt: Command-Detonated Mines in the Second Chechen War |work=Engineer: The Professional Bulletin for Army Engineers |date=February 2001}}</ref> Soon, the Russian forces seized the last populated centres of the organized resistance. (Another offensive against the remaining mountain strongholds was launched by Russian forces in December 2000.){{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

===Restoration of federal government===
{{Main|Federal government in Chechnya}}

In May 2000 the following month, Putin appointed [[Akhmad Kadyrov]] interim head of the pro-Moscow government. This development met with early approval in the rest of Russia, but the continued deaths of Russian troops dampened public enthusiasm. On 23 March 2003, a new Chechen constitution was passed in a referendum. The 2003 Constitution granted the Chechen Republic a significant degree of [[autonomy]], but still tied it firmly to Russia and Moscow's rule, and went into force on 2 April 2003. The referendum was strongly supported by the Russian government but met a harsh critical response from Chechen separatists; many citizens chose to boycott the ballot. {{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} Akhmad Kadyrov was assassinated by a bomb blast in 2004. Since December 2005, his son [[Ramzan Kadyrov]], leader of the pro-Moscow militia known as ''[[kadyrovtsy]]'', has been functioning as the Chechnya's ''de facto'' ruler. Kadyrov has become Chechnya's most powerful leader and, in February 2007, with support from Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov replaced [[Alu Alkhanov]] as president.