"A practically bankrupt state cannot finance an army in Chechnya, which is daily suffering losses from enemy attacks," Lieutenant General Alexander Naumov, the commander of army forces in Chechnya, said Thursday.
Naumov, whose comments were carried by Interfax, said troops in Chechnya already owe suppliers more than 110 billion rubles ($24 million) for food, fuel and municipal services.
The Defense Ministry has no money to pay allowances to the servicemen who risk their lives fighting in Chechnya, he said.
General Anatoly Shkirko, Russia's supreme commander in Chechnya, appeared alongside Naumov to report that his forces were not ready for the winter, lacking tents and heaters, as well as funds to purchase equipment and even warm clothes.
"We are doing everything in order to ensure that before the cold comes, all servicemen have proper clothes and footwear and comfortable accommodation," Shkirko told a news conference.
Meanwhile, rebel commanders warned at a gathering in Urus-Martan, 20 kilometers southwest of Grozny, that they would bring the war to Russia's heartland if Moscow resumes large-scale military operations.
"Russia must feel the same suffering as the Chechen people did," said Daud Akhmadov, a senior rebel commander.
One such raid already took place last summer in the southern Russian town of Budyonnovsk, where Chechen fighters led by Shamil Basayev killed dozens of people and seized hundreds of civilian hostages, keeping them in a local hospital until secured safe passage back and peace negotiations with Moscow.
"Basayev's action was a courtesy call. There can be a warning visit and there can be a revenge visit," threatened Akhmadov, according to Interfax.
Shkirko also cited intelligence information that radical rebels are preparing an attack on Aslan Maskhadov, the chief Chechen separatist negotiator.
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