The 42nd Motorized Rifle Division will be permanently deployed around Grozny, virtually isolating the capital from the rest of the republic. Nine Interior Ministry battalions will operate in close cooperation with the Army to seal off rebel strongholds in the mountains from the rest of the republic. Finally, border guards will control the republic's borders with neighboring Georgia, Dagestan and Ingushetia. The military is, in effect, throwing its last remaining resources at the conflict in Chechnya. Because it lacks enough commanders with combat experience, the Russian command has been forced to transfer about 100 officers from the 201st Division in Tadjikistan to Chechnya.
Federal forces have three main objectives in Chechnya.
The first is to actively hunt down the remaining rebels and destroy their bases and supply routes. Its second goal, Gen. Manilov said, is to find and eliminate rebels still living in areas controlled by federal forces. And the third is to prevent acts of terrorism in the breakaway republic. Having all three branches of the security force deployed in Chechnya will make it easier for any one of them to avoid blame in case of heavy losses or major defeats. And it appears that such losses will continue.