Moscow, 10 January 2000 (RFE/RL) - The Russian military says that 25 of its soldiers were killed and 30 more wounded in the past 24 hours of fighting in Chechnya. That is the heaviest toll of casualties in a single day that Moscow has acknowledged since the Russian offensive began in the breakaway republic four months ago.
Russian press reports say most of the casualties were inflicted by Chechen rebels in battles yesterday in or near the strategic Chechen towns of Argun, Shali, and Gudermes. All three towns are within 30 kilometers of the capital, Grozny, which is still under Russian siege.