Regardless of who was behind the bombings in 1999, Putin now had the support of the Russian people to prosecute a second war in Chechnya. As he’d promised them, the conflict began with a massive aerial bombing campaign. Hundreds of sorties were flown throughout September 1999. Grozny airport was rendered inoperable and oil refineries, bridges, telecommunication centres and power stations were all hit as the country’s infrastructure was gradually destroyed. Civilian areas were targeted, too, resulting in hundreds of deaths and approximately 100,000 refugees, many of
