1.   Russian forces moved from the north, the east and the west in an effort to fracture the rebel defenses and seize the heart of the city.

2.   The Russian artillery offensive appeared to be an attempt to blast a hole in rebel defenses to allow armored reinforcements to reach the center of Grozny.

3.   Chief of Staff Gen. Joao de Matos used raw, but angry Huambo refugee recruits to punch through rebel defenses.

4.   Earlier this week, the government forces made forays into the rebel-held territory to destroy rebel defenses and bunker lines before the major thrust.

5.   Earlier, the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA reported that a French Parachute battalion took over some rebel Serb defense lines in Grbavica.

6.   Hawks in the military command had been loathe to call off a massive offensive that smashed through rebel defenses and drove the insurgents out of their headquarters in Huambo.

7.   It said a French Parachute batallion took over some rebel Serb defense lines in Grbavica, a southern Sarajevo suburb.

8.   It said a French Parachute battalion took over some rebel Serb defense lines in Grbavica, a southern Sarajevo suburb.

9.   Russian troops, backed by aircraft and artillery, launched the offensive Saturday and claimed to have broken through the forward line of rebel defenses.

10.   Russian troops, driven from the heart of the Chechen capital by a spirited rebel defense, rained rockets and artillery shells on the city Tuesday.