Report: Russians move into Georgia rebel area

[__Kratos__]

TBILISI, Georgia - Russian troops moved into South Ossetia hours after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Georgia that its attack on the breakaway region would draw retaliation, Russian television reported Friday.

The Russian move comes after Georgian troops launched a major military offensive earlier Friday to regain control over South Ossetia and the president accused Russia, which has close ties to the separatists, of bombing Georgian territory.

The fighting in South Ossetia has raised fears of an all-out war that could draw in Russia, which has peacekeepers in the region. Putin said an unspecified number of the peacekeepers have been wounded.

Russia's Channel 1 television showed a convoy of Russian tanks which it said entered South Ossetia. The tanks were reportedly expected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, in a few hours.

There was no immediate comment from Georgian officials.

Putin had earlier said the Georgian attack will draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship.

An Associated Press reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia and villagers were fleeing into Russia.

“I saw them (the Georgians) shelling my village,” said Maria, who gave only her first name. She looked shocked and was reluctant to speak. She said she and other villagers spent the night in a field and then fled toward the Russian border as the fighting escalated.

More of the article here: Link

----------------------------------------------------------

CNN is reporting now that the Georgians also shot down 2 Russian aircraft.

Edited August 8, 2008 by __Kratos__

[War Eagle]

The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming ...

[Spurious George]

Russian jets bomb Georgian airbase - Tbilisi

Russian jets bombed the Vaziani military airbase outside the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Friday, a senior Georgian security official told Reuters.

"No one was wounded but some buildings have been destroyed," said Kakha Lamaia. The airbase is some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Tbilisi.

"They have declared war against us," said Lamaia.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL8690622

Russia volunteers poised to join battle for separatists' capital Tskhinvali

Hundreds and possibly thousands of volunteer fighters from Russia were mobilising to enter the war in Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia republic tonight.

Units of armed Cossacks from across the North Caucasus region that borders Georgia were poised to join the battle for the separatists' capital, Tskhinvali.

In North Ossetia, the region of Russia which shares cultural links and a border with South Ossetia, lists of men willing to cross the border and fight against Georgian forces were drawn up. Vitaly Khubayev, 35, a resident of the capital Vladikavkaz, told the Guardian: "There are already two busloads of fighters leaving for Tskhinvali every day.

"They give you a uniform on the way and then you get issued with weapons once you arrive. If I didn't have three children I'd have gone myself."

The two Ossetian republics are historically inseparable and residents of the northern republic were furious at what they described as the "Georgian fascist attack" on their neighbours.

Many said they were willing to take up arms and travel to defend their relatives across the border in South Ossetia. Valentin Tekhti, 67, a teacher, said: "Our Ossetian brothers are dying. If we get the call every man who can stand on two legs will go to fight."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/08/russia.georgia

Putin Says 'War Has Started,' Georgia Claims Invasion

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said "war has started'' over the breakaway region of South Ossetia as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili accused its neighbor of a "well-planned invasion.''

Saakashvili said in a Bloomberg Television interview that his nation of 4.6 million people is "fighting to secure its borders'' amid a "full-blown military aggression'' involving thousands of Russian troops. Aerial bombings and widespread fighting in and around the region killed an unknown number of civilians and wounded "scores'' more, Saakashvili said.

Putin earlier today told George W. Bush in Beijing that "volunteers'' were pouring over the border to help defend South Ossetia from Georgian forces, according to Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "War started today in South Ossetia'' when Georgia attacked Russian peacekeepers in the disputed region, Putin said. The Defense Ministry later said it deployed "reinforcements.''

The ruble dropped the most against the dollar in 8 1/2 years and Russian stocks tumbled today on concern the conflict will worsen. The U.S., U.K., European Union and NATO, which Georgia is seeking to join, all called on both sides to end hostilities.

South Ossetia, which has a population of about 70,000 and is less than half the size of Kosovo, broke away from U.S.-backed Georgia in the early 1990s and now is a de facto independent state with Russian peacekeepers and economic support.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

Very cowardly that Georgia calls for a ceasfire and then launches a massive attack.

Edited August 8, 2008 by Naughtzi Boy

[stevewinn]

oh dear, what was Georgia thinking? it'll all be over by tea time. the Olympics are on the other side

[chaoszerg]

oh dear, what was Georgia thinking? it'll all be over by tea time. the Olympics are on the other side

I agree.

They are doomed.

[saturnrings]

oh dear, what was Georgia thinking? it'll all be over by tea time. the Olympics are on the other side

hope so!

[louie]

they have been fighting the russians for years, question is what do the georgians have that the Russians want.

[Cleomenes]

they have been fighting the russians for years, question is what do the georgians have that the Russians want.

Their independence.

[Iwanci]

they have been fighting the russians for years, question is what do the georgians have that the Russians want.

This is all part of the plan!

[Spurious George]

Georgian President Saakashvili is now trying to drag the US into the conflict....

Saakashvili, whose country is pushing to join NATO, said the conflict "is not about Georgia anymore. It's about America, its values."

"I ... thought that America stands up for those freedom-loving nations and supports them. That's what America is all about. That's why we look with hope at every American," the U.S.-educated president said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSN08472548

He sure is laying it on thick... after he starts this mess that he cant win.

Edited August 8, 2008 by Naughtzi Boy

[Spurious George]

This is all part of the plan!

What plan?

[chaoszerg]

Georgian President Saakashvili is now trying to drag the US into the conflict....

He sure is laying it on thick... after he starts this mess that he cant win.

Deal with it yourself Georgia. Don't bite of more than you can chew.

[el midgetron]

It would be a serious mistake for the international community to regard the dramatic escalation of violence in Georgia as just another flare-up in the Caucasus.

The names of the flashpoints may be unfamiliar, the territory remote and the dispute parochial, but the battle underway will have major repercussions well beyond this volatile region.

The outcome of this struggle will determine the course of Russia’s future relations with its neighbours, will shape President Medvedev’s presidency, could alter the relationship between the Kremlin and the West and decide the fate of future energy supplies from the Caspian basin.

Quite what triggered the Georgian offensive, on the day that the world was supposed to gather in peace for the start of the Beijing Olympics, is not yet clear.

But it is known that a major confrontation has been building up. Indeed, British intelligence earlier this year predicted that a war in the Caucasus was probable in the near future.

Part of the responsibility must lie with President Mikheil Saakashvili. The US-educated politician has rightly been praised for turning around his country’s dire economy, for transforming his former Soviet-style army into a modern Western force and for standing up to the Kremlin’s intimidation.

Georgia has for the best part of two decades been saddled with breakaway regions in Abhazia and South Ossetia, both supported by Russia as part of the Kremlin’s strategy to weaken Tblisi’s authority.

Nevertheless, seeking to reintegrate the separatist provinces by force is a risky, some would say reckless, move that threatens to trigger an all out war between Russia and Georgia.

On paper, the small Georgian military is no match for the might of the Russian armed forces. But Mr Saakashvili has calculated that his friends in the West, notably America and Britain, will protect him against an all out Russian attack.

Anyone who has visited Baghdad’s Green Zone will be surprised to discover Georgian troops providing security. They are part of a force of some 2,000 soldiers serving in Iraq. Their presence has helped forge a strong alliance with the Bush Administration, which provides Georgia with military aid and diplomatic support.

The Georgian leader may have calculated that he needed to make his move now against the breakaway region while Mr Bush is still in office. It is unlikely that his successor would be as supportive as the current administration.

Russia must also shoulder responsibility for the current crisis. Under President Putin, the Kremlin stepped up its support for Georgia’s breakaway regions offering its inhabitants Russian citizenship and arming separatist forces while pretending to be playing the role of honest broker.

The Kremlin also attempted to break Georgian resolve by deporting Georgian citizens from Russia, imposing an air and land blockade and banning the import of Georgian goods.

It had been hoped that the election earlier this year of President Medvedev might signal an easing of tensions between the two neighbours. It seems more likely that, thanks to Mr Putin’s continued influence as Prime Minister and the sinister role played by hardliners in the military, Mr Medvedev may instead find himself embroiled in an all out war.

The West, in particular America, has also stoked the regional fire. At the Nato summit in Bucharest earlier this year it pressed for Georgia and Ukraine’s membership of the alliance. The move was blocked by the Europeans, but Nato did give a commitment to offer the two countries membership at a later date. That move was seen in Moscow as a direct challenge to its dominance in what it calls the “near abroad”, the former Soviet republics.

Since then, Russia has made it clear in word and deed that it will do anything to prevent Nato’s expansion on its western and southern flanks.

America and Britain are particularly closely involved in providing military assistance to the Georgians in the form of arms and training. The support is aimed at encouraging the rise of Georgia as an independent, sovereign state. But the help is also partly a means of protecting the oil pipeline across Georgia that carries crude from the Caspian to the Black Sea, the only export route that bypasses Russia’s stranglehold on energy exports from the region.

For all these reasons, the stakes in this mini war could not be higher.

If Georgia succeeds in reimposing its sovereignty over South Ossetia in the face of Russian opposition, it will be a huge setback to Russia’s influence in the region. It could also embolden other former Soviet republics, like Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, who are also seeking to break out of Moscow’s grip.

A defeat for the Georgians could well signal the end of Mr Saakashvili and set back severely Georgia’s efforts to establish itself as a modern Western-looking democracy.

Either way, the conflict risks further undermining already strained relations between Russia and the West and encouraging those on both sides who would like to see a return to Cold War suspicion and rivalry.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle4486297.ece

[Spurious George]

Russian forces control part of Tskhinvali -Tbilisi

Russian forces control part of the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, the Georgian interior ministry said on Friday, after Russia sent forces over its border to repel a Georgian assault on separatists.

Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Russian forces were shelling Georgian troops "from tanks and airplanes".

"We control part of the town, the Russians another," Utiashvili said of the besieged capital, Tskhinvali.

http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSL861923

[Iwanci]

What plan?

u will see when it unfolds!

[chaoszerg]

u will see when it unfolds!

Is there actually a plan or are you just saying that to look like you know something.

[realmcutter]

at first i thought you were talking about the state , but then i realised it wasn't . But it is sad that the entire world is going up in arms, and now the dominos are falling into place, and events will happen that are beyond the normal comprehension of most people.

[stevewinn]

Georgia has to be careful, both sides think they're in the right, so its harder for either to back down, but Russia claims its protecting its people in south ossetia and is going in to "liberate" them,

Georgia needs to be careful this conflict doesn't get out of control and Russia ends up "liberating" the whole of Georgia,

Turkey have said they'll supply Georgia with leccy, but militarily Georgia is up sheeeet creek,. , it only has 6/7 war planes and about 60 tanks, and i dont think them pulling 1,000 troops out of Iraq to be re-deployed back home is going to have much of an affect.

its a bloody good job Georgia wasn't accepted has a NATO member,

[InHuman]

They're playing a dangerous game, counting on others to rush to their aid. If someone does come that might just cement the idea in russian minds that america isn't in europe for JUST a missle shield...

Edited August 8, 2008 by InHuman

[louie]

georgia wants independence , so Russia wont give it is it just gonna turn the whole country into a state controlled area, like East germany. an look what happened there. just let the georgians have thier independance. move the russian people out an live happly ever after.

BTW the georgian rebels have been giving the russians a good fight for quite a few years now.

[InHuman]

^^^^^^

Yup all those terrorist attacks... and I'm not sure it was them but.. who took that school hostage and killed all those children?

[Helen of Annoy]

georgia wants independence , so Russia wont give it is it just gonna turn the whole country into a state controlled area, like East germany. an look what happened there. just let the georgians have thier independance. move the russian people out an live happly ever after.

BTW the georgian rebels have been giving the russians a good fight for quite a few years now.

Move the Russian people out? Just like that, move someone out??

I'm so surprised because I saw what ethnic cleansing looks like. Independence can be achieved without “moving out” people on ethnic basis.

[Plainbob13]

^^^^^^

Yup all those terrorist attacks... and I'm not sure it was them but.. who took that school hostage and killed all those children?

That was a Chechen separatist group.

[chaoszerg]

If America get's involved the poop is really going to hit the fan.

[Spurious George]

georgia wants independence , so Russia wont give it is it just gonna turn the whole country into a state controlled area, like East germany. an look what happened there. just let the georgians have thier independance. move the russian people out an live happly ever after.

BTW the georgian rebels have been giving the russians a good fight for quite a few years now.

Uhhmm I think you got it all wrong.... Georgia is independent, maybe its Chechnya you are thinking of?