Editing Second Chechen War (section)

===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}}