RUSSIA: CHECHNYA: RUSSIAN FORCES PUSH FOR GROZNY

(29 Dec 1994) Chechen/Natsot Russian forces have launched a massive air and artillery offensive on the Chechen capital of Grozny and the nearby town of Argun, in a major push towards the capital of the breakaway republic. Hundreds of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles are rolling towards Grozny, supported by warplanes using laser-guided bombs which have been pounding the area. Civilian casualties have been high, but Chechen forces are offering fierce resistance as the fronts shift from the surrounding rural areas towards the streets of Grozny and Argun. Russian President Boris Yeltsin had warned the Chechens that he would use as much force as is necessary to settle the Chechen crisis - a warning repeated Wednesday night by Russian foreign minister Andrei Kosyrev. Thursday, the promise was fulfilled. Russian jets, firing flares as deterrents against heat-seeking missiles, dropped hundreds of tons of explosives on the town of Argun east of Grozny. According to the Chechen deputy f