Chechnya

Chechnya, January 1995

Russia's first invasion of Chechnya between 1994 and 1996 ranks among the worst military engagements of the 20th century. Some of the most savage scenes came in the first weeks of the war when Russian troops, already suffering from low morale attacked the capital Grozny. The invasion of Chechnya came after months of rising tension between the breakway republic and Moscow. The massive onslaught against the capital began on New Year's Eve 1994. Western journalists, reported that the Russian artillery was indiscriminately targeting civilian apartment blocks. The city of Grozny was reduced to rubble.