Chechnya Toll Is Far Higher, 80,000 Dead, Lebed Asserts

In the grimmest assessment to date of the toll in Chechnya, Aleksandr I. Lebed said today that about 80,000 people had been killed in the fighting and that some 240,000 had been wounded.

The estimates by President Boris N. Yeltsin's security adviser far exceed many casualty projections, which hold that 30,000 to 40,000 people have been killed in 21 months of war. But some human rights organizations said Mr. Lebed's figures are more up to date.

Madina Magomadova, the head of the Mothers of Chechnya Committee, said that some 75,000 people had been killed by January and that the toll has risen since.

Mr. Lebed's assessment came during a news conference in which he defended the recent accord that ended the fighting and deferred the question of Chechnya's independence.

Since Mr. Lebed signed an accord with Chechen military commanders, his task has been further complicated by Kremlin infighting. Mr. Lebed has been chided by Kremlin rivals, who have complained that the accord makes too many concessions to Chechen rebels. Mr. Yeltsin has yet to endorse the agreement.

So, Mr. Lebed has taken his case to the public to maintain a sense of momemtum for the peace plan.

Mr. Lebed said he interpreted Mr. Yeltsin's silence as a form of consent, but acknowledged that his task would be easier if he had the President's formal backing. ''I can accomplish everything, but I must say that I could do with the sincere support by the President,'' Mr. Lebed said.

Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, who has been visibly unhappy over Mr. Lebed's efforts to expand his powers, has also expressed concerns about the plan.

But today Mr. Chernomyrdin gave grudging, if qualified, support for the agreement in a meeting with regional leaders from the north Caucasus.

''The agreements signed by Lebed cause some concern, but on the whole we consider them right,'' Mr. Chernomyrdin said. ''We should act within the framework of these agreements and keep to their thrust.''

Mr. Lebed, however, did not shrink from rebuking his critics within the Government, like Anatoly Chubais, the chief of staff, who has complained that the accord left many problems unresolved and failed to defend adequately the principle of Russia's territorial integrity.

The centerpiece of Mr. Lebed's defense of the accord was his assessment of the toll of the war.

In an opening presentation, Mr. Lebed said 60 percent of the schools, kindergartens and nurseries in Grozny had been fully or partly destroyed. ''One can speak about 80,000 killed, give or take 10,000, and about three times as many wounded and maimed,'' Mr. Lebed added.

He said that some Chechen rebels were not under the effective control of their leaders and cautioned that fighting could erupt again.

''I do not believe that I have fulfilled my mission,'' the security adviser said. ''The war has only been suspended. Large armed formations are still there and they are in potential confrontation.''