Russian troops invade Georgia and take the city of Gori

Times Online

August 11, 2008

Russian troops invade Georgia and take the city of Gori

Tony Halpin in Gori, and Kevin O'Flynn in Moscow

Russian forces overran the strategic Georgian city of Gori today astroops prepared to defend the capital Tbilisi from what one officialcalled a "total onslaught".Georgian soldiers fled Gori, 17 miles from the border with rebel SouthOssetia, in panic and disarray, clinging to the sides of cars andvehicles as they sped out of town. A Georgian armoured personnel carrierwas in flames on the street, a victim of the sudden rout.

Alexander Lomaia, secretary of the Georgian security council, said thatthe Georgian army had been told instead instead to concentrate itsefforts on holding Mtskheta, 15 miles from the capital."Russian forces are occupying Gori. Georgian armed forces received anorder to leave Gori and to fortify positions near Mtskheta to defend thecapital. This is a total onslaught," Mr Lomaia said.Georgia was facing a Russian push on two fronts as as the Kremlincontinued to ignore international pressure for a ceasefire five daysinto the conflict.

In the west, Russian troops entered Georgia from the breakaway region ofAbkhazia on the Black Sea, while in the north, intense shellingcontinued in and around South Ossetia.Moscow confirmed that its soldiers had swept from Abkhazia into the townof Senaki, 40 km inside Georgia. The Defence Ministry in Moscow claimedthat the raid on Senaki was intended to prevent Georgian troops fromregrouping for "new attacks on South Ossetia".

The admission marked a dangerous new phase in the conflict as Russiaadvanced into Georgian territory with no indication of when itsoffensive might cease, despite a claim from President Medvedev that muchof the operation was complete.President Saakashvili told Georgians in a televised address that Russiawas attempting to occupy the whole country. He said: "This provocationwas aimed at occupying South Ossetia, Abkhazia and then all of Georgia."He claimed that Russian tanks were rampaging through the countrysidewhile Russian troops were carrying out summary killings and human rightsabuses.

In the hours before the fall of Gori, The Times witnessed Russian MiGfighter jets bombing Georgian positions about 9 km from the border withSouth Ossetia, and there were sustained exchanges of artillery fire.Soldiers on the ground claimed that Russian and South Ossetian forceshad established artillery positions inside the border on the Georgianside. Georgian tanks and heavy weaponry ringed the outskirts of Gori inanticipation of a Russian advance, which was not long coming.

The prospects for a negotiated ceasefire were dealt a blow when Russia'sambassador to Nato declared that Mr Saakashvili "is no longer a man thatwe can deal with". Dmitri Rogozin said: "He must be punished forbreaching international law. He is responsible for many war crimes."President Sarkozy of France is preparing to fly to Georgia and Russiatomorrow on a peace mission, following a round of shuttle diplomacy byhis foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, who is due in Moscow tonightcarrying a draft ceasefire proposal signed by Mr Saakashvili.Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, said that Russia wouldcontinue its military operation until "its logical end".

He hit out at the United States in particular for transporting 800Georgian soldiers from Iraq, some of whom have been deployed in Gori onthe border of South Ossetia.Russia warned the West that "the Georgian side was preparingaggression," said Mr Putin. "Nobody was listening. And this is theresult. We have finally come to it. However, Russia will of course carryout its peacekeeping mission to its logical end."Russia's incursion into Georgian territory follows a rapid troop buildup, as thousands of Russian troops have poured into Georgia's breakawayprovinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Nato's Secretary-General today criticised Russia over its"disproportionate" use of force. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was "seriouslyconcerned" about Russia's response and its "lack of respect for theterritorial integrity of Georgia," a spokesperson said.The statement followed President Bush's comments in Beijing, where hewas watching the Olympics. He said he had spoken "firmly" to Mr Putin,who was directing the Kremlin's actions in Georgia.Gordon Brown today made his first direct comments on the crisis, sayingthere was "no justification" for Russia’s military action in Georgia,and that there was a "clear responsibility" on Moscow to agree aceasefire and bring a swift end to the conflict which threatened a"humanitarian catastrophe".