Agence France Presse January 27, 2002
Sunday
Copyright 2002 Agence France Presse
Agence France Presse
January 27, 2002 Sunday
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 276 words
HEADLINE: Top Russian generals killed in chopper explosion over Chechnya
DATELINE: MOSCOW, Jan 27
BODY:
Several top Russian military commanders, including an interior ministry general
overseeing the North Caucasus region, died Sunday when their helicopter exploded
over Chechnya, Interfax news agency reported.
Interior ministry General Mikhail Rudchenko, who oversees the southern Russian
adminstrative region, and his deputy identified only as General Davydov, died
in the explosion. The news agency said that preliminary evidence showed that
the explosion was the result of "an act of terrorism," suggesting
an attack by Chechen rebels.
Other lower-ranking officials on board the Mi-8 helicopter included colonels
Oriyenko, Stepanenko, and Trafimov, Interfax said.
ITAR-TASS separately reported that 11 people were on board the chopper, which
went down around 11:30 am (0830 GMT) when it was flying over Chechnya's northern
Nadterechny region, which fell under Russian control at the start of the 28-month
Chechen war.
The chopper's apparent downing coincided with the five-year anniversary of the
election of separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov as president, whose term officially
expired Sunday.
If the crash was indeed caused by rebel forces, it would represent one of the
Chechen rebels' most astounding attacks against Russian troops in the war, with
fighting degenerating into deadly guerrilla warfare in the past two years.
The Russian army swept into Chechnya in October 1999 on what Moscow called an
anti-terrorist campaign that followed a series of bombings in Russia in which
almost 300 people died.
The campaign played a large part in winning Vladimir Putin, who was prime minister
at the time, the Russian presidency.