Russia's acting president Vladimir Putin has said that his elevation to the Kremlin will not lead to a change in policy over the Chechen conflict - but he denied that he had ordered military operations to be completed before presidential elections in 90 days.

Mr Putin was speaking after he returned to Moscow following his morale-boosting visit to troops amid a massive New Year's Day bombardment of the Chechen capital Grozny.

Speaking before the visit, Chechen leader Aslan Maskadov told Reuters that Russian forces were suffering massive losses - and were facing the beginning of a "full scale partisan war".

Hours earlier, Mr Putin held his first telephone conversation with US President Bill Clinton. A White House spokesman has since revealed that while Mr Clinton said the relationship had got off to a good start, the president had told Mr Putin that he objected to Russian policy over Chechnya.

Speaking on Russian television, Mr Putin said: "What changes in tactics can there be if I developed them myself?

"Why should I change them now that I have even more possibilities? I think that everything we have done so far has been justified."

The acting president stressed that Russian forces were seeking to keep civilian casualties to a minimum - despite fears that thousands remain trapped in Grozny.

"We have no intention to liberate anything by acting hastily," he told the television channel.

"We plan to act in the best possible way, which means as few losses as possible among our servicemen and no losses among the civilian population.

"This is what we have been doing so far and we will continue to act in this way. Our ultimate goal is peace in the Chechen soil, peace and prosperity of the Chechen people."

Grozny pounded

The new year brought no peace to Grozny as it suffered what was believed to be one of the largest attacks of the two week campaign to seize the city from rebel forces.

Reports emerging from civilians in the city described the attack as unrelenting as waves of low-flying jets unleashed scores of bombs.

At the same time, Russia's artillery fired hundreds of shells into the city from the surrounding hills.

Up to 40,000 civilians, mostly elderly and infirm, are believed to be trapped in Grozny.

Refugees who have escaped the city say that these people are hiding in freezing cellars, too afraid to venture out for food or water or even risk fleeing the city.

Confusion surrounds how far Russian troops have been able to advance in the city and what kind of operation is underway against rebels in the southern mountains.

A deputy commander of the Russian forces in the North Caucasuses, Gen-Maj Vadim Timchenko said that troops had killed the Chechen warlord Arbi Barayev who, he said, was accused of torturing and murdering Russian and foreign civilians.

Russian forces also also launched three Scud missiles into the breakaway republic, the first reported use of such heavy weaponry being unleashed.

In contrast, agency reports suggest that Chechen rebels, who may have mined part of the city, are pinning down Russian forces with heavy fire from bunkers'.

Russian military officials say that they are losing on average 10 soldiers a day with a similar number wounded.

Chechens have disputed these figures saying more than a thousand Russians have been killed in the past few weeks.