71.  Gen. Gennady N. Troshev, the deputy commander of Russian forces in the North Caucasus, left no doubt whom he expected his troops to support.

72.  Gen. Konstantin Pulikovsky, the commander of Russian forces in Chechnya, said as much Tuesday.

73.  Grozny appears to be surrounded, and Russian forces have taken key towns in the south.

74.  Grozny was largely demolished earlier this year when Russian forces seized the capital in the latest round of warfare.

75.  Grozny, the capital, which Russian forces captured with great fanfare earlier this year, has become the scene of grisly firefights.

76.  He has mismanaged the contraction of Russian military forces, leaving a demoralized, undisciplined army, and endorsed the brutal Russian offensive against Chechnya.

77.  He told them to attempt a retreat, then radioed Russian forces and ordered strikes on his own position in a last attempt to repel the attackers.

78.  He said that Russian forces had not yet taken Grozny because they were deliberately holding back.

79.  However, fresh evidence shows that rebels pass back and forth across the porous border just as Russian forces have undertaken secretive incursions into Georgian territory itself.

80.  Human Rights Watch has urged the United Nations to appoint an independent commission to investigate human rights violations by Russian forces in Chechnya.