Then there were reports of heavy losses from Russian officers although these were swiftly denied by Moscow
Posted in General on 27. Jul, 2010
Then there were reports of heavy losses from Russian officers, although these were swiftly denied by Moscow.Whatever the true figures, Russian casualties are likely to increase. Even senior medical staff in the Defence Ministry cannot obtain true figures, says the militarynews agency AVN, which suspects that losses are three or four times the number reported.The true figure for federal losses is a political football because Moscow has always presented this waras very different from the one in 1994-96, when Chechen guerrillas repeatedly decimated untrained infantry and unsupported armoured columns.Dmitri Shkapov of Memorial, a human-rights group, saidthat going on past experience, the casualties were between 20 and 30 per cent higher than officially announced.This may be because the number of missing is not included. The army, Interior Ministry, security services and different branches of the government report their losses separately.Both the Interior Ministry and the FSB security service told The Independent yesterday that they had no data that they could reveal. Valentina Melnikova, of the Soldiers’ Mothers Committee, said that going by reports from the Russian regions, the real figure is at least 3,000 dead and 6,000 wounded.The government has gone out of its way to make it difficult for the public to discover the number of Russian victims. This excludes casualties from the heavy fighting during a Chechen counterattack 10 days ago on towns east of Grozny, the Chechen capital.But since Moscow launched the second Chechen war, many soldiers, their relatives and human rights groups have come to believe that the real losses are much higher than those announced. Only by chance was a photographer – who does not want to be named – able to take a picture of the bodies of four Interior Ministry troops from the city of Orenburg, which was published yesterday in the Russian weekly Novaya Gazeta.The soldiers were killed fighting Chechen guerrillas on 27 December, a day when officials say that no troops were killed. The bodies, which were abandoned, were handed over 11 days later in exchange for some dead rebels.The Defence Ministry in Moscow said yesterday that 426 soldiers were killed and 1,195 wounded between 10 October and 5 January.
The bodies of four federal soldiers lie in shrouds in a frozen field in Chechnya – although officially no soldiers were killed on the day they died. Now two pictures, taken secretly by a Russian photographer and published in a newspaper yesterday, have provided evidence of their deaths and have renewed doubts about the true number of casualties.
From the start of this latest conflict in Chechnya, the Russian armed forces have gone out of their way to sanitise the war, reporting limited casualties and ensuring photographs of its dead and wounded never appeared on television or in the press Generally, they have succeeded. Standing behind him and showing every intention of participating actively in the campaign, is the former prime minister Felipe Gonzalez, whom few conservatives dare mention, so conscious are they of his charisma and electoral pull compared to their own low-key leader.Policy differences between the parties are minute: in the debate over privatisation the Socialists say only that the benefits go to Mr Aznar’s cronies. There is no suggestion their strategy would be any different.. The bodies of four federal soldiers lie in shrouds in a frozen field in Chechnya – although officially no soldiers were killed on the day they died. Now two pictures, taken secretly by a Russian photographer and published in a newspaper yesterday, have provided evidence of their deaths and have renewed doubts about the true number of casualties. Polls predict a slight PP advantage, and the campaign is expected to be particularly fierce as the two main parties battle for the centre ground.Despite the smooth running of the economy and absence of social discontent, Mr Aznar has seemed unable to elicit much more popularity than he mobilised in 1996.The Socialists, under the competent but unexciting Mr Almunia, have not fully recovered from the trauma of losing four years ago.
But Mr Biedenkopf yesterday ruled himself out, urging Mr Schäuble to cut the last links with Mr Kohl.There were signs that the pro-Kohl faction was preparing a challenge to Mr Schäuble by proposing Mr Kohl’s former protege, Jürgen Rüttgers.. Spain’s parliament is to be dissolved today to prepare for elections that the Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, announced for 12 March. Spain’s parliament is to be dissolved today to prepare for elections that the Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, announced for 12 March.
The announcement heralds a bruising contest between his conservative Popular Party (PP) and the Socialists, led by Joaquin Almunia, although formal campaigning does not start until 23 February. An emergency meeting of the party’s ruling council has been called for today.