On 29 February 2000, just hours after Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev had assured his government that the Second Chechen War was over, an isolated Russian force composed mainly of a company of paratroopers of the 76th Airborne Division from the city of Pskov found itself cut off by a retreating Chechen column led by Shamil Basayev and Ibn Al-Khattab.
On February 29, 2000, just hours after Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev assured his government that the Second Chechen War was over, a small Russian force from Pskov's airborne division found itself surrounded by a retreating Chechen column led by Shamil Basayev and Ibn Al-Khattab.