A high-ranking general has reportedly quit his post in the Russian Army, saying he can no longer follow orders to participate in the invasion of Chechnya.


The report, if confirmed, would make the general, Eduard Borovyov, the second top military official in the past week to quit the Russian offensive in the breakaway republic.


Borovyov, the first deputy commander of the army's land forces, told Sergei Yushenkov, an outspoken critic of the war and the head of the State Duma's Defense Committee, that "My honor is more valuable," Yushenkov said Thursday.


Military officials immediately denied that Borovyov had either resigned or been sacked. "That is nothing more than disinformation," said a spokesman for the Provisional Information Center, the government media office for information on the combat in Chechnya.


Interfax also reported late Thursday that Borovyov's boss, Vladimir Semyonov, commander in chief of the army's land forces, rejected reports of the resignation, saying he did not agree with its "reasons and motivations."


Last Friday, General Ivan Babichev, an officer leading one of the three columns advancing on Grozny, resigned, saying he would not fire on Chechens.


Itar-Tass also reported that Defense Minister Pavel Grachev had dismissed the entire leadership of the North Caucasus army group and taken control of the Chechen operation but this was denied in a government statement