On 31 December 1994 Russian forces attacked Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. In the assault on the city thousands of civilians died from air raids and military bombardments, reportedly the heaviest bombing campaign in Europe since the destruction of Dresden. The initial assault on New Year’s Eve 1994 ended in a Russian defeat, resulting in heavy casualties and at first nearly a complete breakdown of morale in the Russian forces. The disaster claimed the lives of an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 Russian soldiers, mostly barely trained and disoriented conscripts.
Source: ‘First Chechen War,’ Wikipedia
