Battle of Grozny (1999–2000)

Battle of Grozny (1999–2000)
	Part of the Second Chechen War
	; Russian troops exchanging fire with Chechen forces, just outside of Grozny, December 1999
Date	25 December 1999 – 6 February 2000; (1 month, 1 week and 5 days)
Location	Grozny, Chechnya
Result	Russian victory
Belligerents
Russia Loyalist opposition;	Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Commanders and leaders
Boris Yeltsin (until 31 December 1999); Vladimir Putin (from 31 December 1999); Anatoly Kvashnin; Gennady Troshev; Viktor Kazantsev; Mikhail Malofeev; Valery Gorbenko; Bislan Gantamirov; Said-Magomed Kakiyev	Aslan Maskhadov; Aslambek Ismailov †; Lechi Dudayev †; Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev †; Shamil Basayev (WIA); Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov †; Isa Munayev; Ruslan Gelayev; Ibn al-Khattab
Strength
20,000 Russian troops	2,000+ fighters
Casualties and losses
Russian Military Data: ; 400+ killed; 1,469 wounded	Russian Military Data: ; 1,500–2,000 killed, Hundreds wounded
	5,000–8,000 civilians killed

The 1999–2000 battle of Grozny or Operation Wolf Hunt was the siege and assault of the Chechen capital Grozny by Russian forces, lasting from late 1999 to early 2000. The siege and assault on the city resulted in the near total destruction of the urban area. In 2003, the United Nations designated Grozny as the most destroyed city on Earth. The battle had a devastating impact on the civilian population. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 8,000 civilians were killed during the siege, making it the bloodiest episode of the Second Chechen War.