Chechnya

Timeline by 12th of August 14:50

12 August

14:50 Village Sakoritno in Kaspi region and village Ruisi in Kareli region are bombed by Russian aviation

14:00 In village Agara (Khashuri region) Russian military jets bombarded an ambulance vehicle

13:25 Three Russian airplanes dropped bombs on the village of Orchosani near Gori.

12:30 Vasiani base nearby Tbilisi has been bombed by Russian planes.

12:25 Oil pipeline 5 km from the city of Rustavi has been bombed.

10:15 Russian planes bombed Gori. The territory around administration building and city market have been bombed.

In the morning ours of 12 August Russian airplanes bombed the village of Tkviavi near Tskhinvali once again.

03:25 Russian envoy to the UN Churkin announced on the press conference that Russia will not support the resolution. Georgian envoy Alasania announced that suggested resolution is acceptable to Georgia.

02:15 Emergency meeting of the Security Council of the UN started. The resolution about cease-fire prepared by France was discussed.

02:05 Russian aviation bombarded Kaspi 30 Km from Tbilisi out of conflict zone. 3 bombs were dropped near the Heidelberg Cement factory (one from the two cement factories in the country). No damage was reported.

August 10, 5:00 pm EST

New Developments

• The last 72 hours military forces of the Russian Federation launched combined air and ground attacks on Georgian territory. This act of aggression is tantamount to an invasion and declaration of war against Georgia and comes at a time when Georgia has been trying to integrate itself with Euro-Atlantic institutions and strengthen its democracy and free market economy.
• Ukraine threatens to block Russian warships from returning to the port of Sevastopol. “Ukraine…reserves the right to bar warships and vessels which could take part in the action (conflict with Georgia) from returning to Ukrainian territory,” read a Foreign Ministry statement released on Sunday. The Russian warfleet consisting of 11 ships is deploying to the Georgian coast and holds the potential for cutting off Georgia’s access to the sea.
• Civilian infrastructure continues to be bombed with the Baku-Ceylan energy pipeline a target. Bombs missed the pipeline but further attacks are expected.
• Russians are using strategic weapons against Georgian civilian targets according to reports including Tu-22 bombers (capable of delivering nuclear missiles), and land-based cruise missiles mounted with conventional explosives. The Tu-22 can carry more than 50,000lbs of bombs.
• Russia’s 58^th Army, known as the Butchers of Chechnya, is leading the Russian assault against Georgia. This army received international condemnation for slaughtering civilians in Chechnya. Read more in the LA Times article Chechens Say Real Horror Began After Battle Ended, http://www.cdi.org/russia/Johnson/3710.html##4.
• NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Russia violated Georgia's territorial integrity in South Ossetia and employed a "disproportionate use of force."
• Russian troops continue to pour into South Ossetia. According to reports more than 6,000 soldiers including special forces, 90 tanks and 150 armored personnel carriers have passed have arrived in the last 24 hours.
• Russian tanks attempt to break out of South Ossetia and drive to the strategic Georgian city of Gori demonstrating their clear intention to take and hold Georgian territory.
• Polish, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Presidents condemn Russian aggression in a joint statement. “We regret that not granting of the NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia was seen as a green light for agression in the region.” http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5572&Itemid=65
• Georgian forces have withdrawn from Tskhinvali, South Ossetia.
• President Saakashvili again appeals for a cease fire to stop the bloodshed.

Reuters

08.10.08, 2:26 PM ET

RUSSIAN FEDERATION - (Recasts with U.S., Russian and Georgian envoys)

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The United States suggested on Sunday that Russia was interested in "regime change" in Georgia after Moscow rejected Tbilisi's offer of a cease-fire in the separatist region of South Ossetia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the president of Georgia "must go," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told the Security Council.

Khalilzad then looked straight at Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin and asked if Moscow was looking for "regime change."

"Is the goal of the Russian Federation to change the leadership of Georgia?" he said.

Churkin did not directly address the question but said there are leaders who "become an obstacle."

"Sometimes those leaders need to contemplate how useful they have become to their people," Churkin told reporters later.

"Regime change is purely an American invention," he said. "We're all for democracy in Georgia."

In Moscow, Lavrov said the departure of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was not a must to solve the crisis but that Russia no longer saw him as a partner.

August 10, 2008

Georgian military forces were able to resist attacks by the Russian army and managed to push and keep Russian forces out of the South Ossetian town of Tskhinvali until very late into the night.

The fierce battles inflicted heavy damage on the Russian forces. During the course of the day, they lost about 40 tanks, as well as a number of smaller artillery pieces, APCs and soldiers.

Early in the morning, overwhelming Russian reinforcements were poured into the theatre, including dozens of tanks, APCs, and katyusha rocket trucks, supported by hundreds of troops.

Russian air forces have been attacking Georgian positions throughout the night in and around Tskhinvali, in a “burned earth” tactic reminiscent of the Russian devastation of Grozny, Chechnya, in the 1990s. As a result, Tskhinvali was largely reduced to rubble, and Georgian forces were forced to redeploy to the outskirts of the city, and unilaterally ceased returning fire. Nevertheless, Russian attacks continued.

August 8 - 9, 2008

1. 16:35 Oni was bombarded by Russian aviation.
2. 16:15 Two Russian battleships are heading towards Poti port. By this time they are near Gudauta.
3. 16:05 Four Russian jets flew over Upper Abkazia.
4. 15:45 Abkhaz separatist leader Sergey Bagapsh announced the launch of bombardment of Upper Abkhazia.
5. 14:30 The Parliament approved ordinance of the Declaration on the State of War and full mobilization.
6. 14:00 Russian air force attack Upper Abkhazia (Kodori gorge) in several places, including the airdrome in the village of Omarishara.
7. 12:40 Kopitnari airdrome is bombed again.
8. 10:22 Russian air force continues to bomb Gori, located 60 kilometers northwest from Tbilisi and is outside the conflict zone.
9. 10:20 One more Russian military airplane is shot down in Gori, located 60 kilometers northwest from Tbilisi and is outside the conflict zone. The pilot has been captured.
10. 10:00 Russian air force bomb Kopitnari airdrome in several kilometers from Kutaisi.
11. The entire 58th Russian Army, located in the North Caucasus, enters the South Ossetia region. They are engaged in battle with the Georgian army in Tskhinvali, which is in the conflict zone and 92 kilometers northwest from Tbilisi.