MOSCOW, February 14 (AVN) - Acting President Vladimir Putin has commemorated the entire personnel of the unified federal group in Chechnya, Putin's aide for media coverage of the Chechnya campaign, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said on Monday.
Yastrzhembsky also said Putin charged him, soldier mother's committees and other public organisations to prepare a Memory Book about the Chechnya war. According to Putin, all publishing expenses should be paid by the state.
Speaking about the military operation in Chechnya, the aide said the rebels are controlling only a part of the Argun gorge. They are trying to restore combat management and communication systems, transport arms and ammo to their strong points and recruit reinforcements in mountain villages, but in vain, he told a briefing in the Russian Information Centre.
They are also establishing sabotage groups for penetration into downcountry Chechnya near the villages of Khatuni, Makhkety and Kirov-Yurt, Yastrzhembsky said.
In the past 24 hours, federals have rebuffed several rebel attempts at deblocking their units surrounded near the Gekhi-Chu village. Border guards have eliminated a large ammo cache in a border district. According to Yastrzhembsky, about 270 people are currently held in a filtration camp near the Chernokozovo village. Another 370 people have been released after a check.