Russia bowed to intense world pressure yesterday and opened the gates to more than a thousand frightened refugees who had been trapped in a war zone in Chechnya for more than a week.
The head of a UN mission to the region, Mr Nikolas Kossidis, said 1,300 people were allowed into the neighbouring Russian republic of Ingushetia yesterday.
The masses of hungry and exhausted Chechens stretched back miles into Chechnya. Some carried banners that read "Moscow, wake up".
"If you compare this to the crisis in 1995 during the last Chechen war, the situation now is even more critical," said Mr Kossidis.
The UN mission, accompanied by the Russian Emergencies Minister, Mr Sergei Shoigu, marked the first time that Moscow has allowed Western officials to witness the humanitarian impact of the new Chechen war.
"The border must remain open, at least for women, children and the elderly," Mr Kossidis stressed.
Just beyond the Chechen border checkpoint, Russian warplanes dived in pairs over suspected camps of gunmen in the rebel republic as the air offensive finished its second month.
The flood of civilians fleeing has recently intensified as Russian troops have taken up positions on the outskirts of the Chechen capital, Grozny, waiting for orders that military leaders have said may be given to storm the rebel stronghold.
Russia sealed off the entire Chechen border for 10 days before allowing in the first trickle of refugees into Ingushetia on Monday. But thousands more are still stranded on the Chechen side of the border, offering scenes of misery and desperation.
The small UN team was dispatched by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, to assess the needs of the nearly 200,000 refugees who have fled since Russia launched an air assault on Chechnya on September 5th.
Mila (42), a refugee waiting at the border, said: "Some prefer to die instantly under the bombing than to perish slowly from cold and hunger" at the crossing.
Yesterday morning two Russian warplanes fired 10 rockets at the village of Krasnoarmeyskoye, north-west of Grozny, and bombed the nearby Rostov-Baku road, a Chechen military official, Ms Isa Munayev, said.
Russian forces have advanced deep into Chechen territory in a three-way pincer movement. Federal forces flew 120 sorties over the rebel republic in a 24-hour period, killing some 150 Chechen gunmen and 10 "rebel bases", news agencies said.