81.   But emotional scenes of discord also erupted when angry townspeople heard hostages praising their Chechen captors for treating them well and denouncing Russian troops for firing on them.

82.   But four days ago, we played and sang in a serious concert before President Yeltsin to mark the withdrawal of Russian troops from Germany.

83.   But he was adamant in his refusal to allow Russian peacekeeping troops to be stationed in Bosnia under NATO command.

84.   But he was visibly troubled by what he saw in Alkhan-Yurt, a village near Grozny that residents say was pillaged by Russian troops.

85.   But he also disclosed that Russian soldiers would conduct reconnaissance and commando operations inside Grozny to help Russian troops infiltrate and occupy the city.

86.   But he has cooperated with Moscow since Russian troops returned last fall, after raids on neighboring Dagestan and apartment bombings that the Kremlin blames on Chechen rebels.

87.   But many Serbs believe NATO forces will be unwilling or unable to save them from revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians, and see Russian troops as their protectors.

88.   But much of the talk in Chechnya revolves around eliminating the Russian troops.

89.   But now the war has apparently entered a far more difficult phase as Russian troops seek to dislodge Chechen fighters from Grozny, the capital.

90.   But late Saturday, the journalists vehemently denied a government assertion that they had been safely evacuated by Russian troops.