Russian Invasion of Georgia - UPDATE 3

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.

Russian Attacks

• Overnight attacks continue to be aimed at civilian targets in bombings exactly like those in Chechnya where civilians were deliberately targeted by the Russian military. In Gori, Georgia, scores of civilians were killed when Russian bombs struck their apartment building.
• Russia is targeting Georgian economic and civilian infrastructure including the port at Poti, the BP energy pipeline, and other key facilities.
• Ground attacks by Russian and South Ossetian military forces have taken place in Tskhinvali while Russian air strikes on Georgian villages include Bolnisi, Gori, Marneuli, Oni, and Vaziani continue.
• The Georgian air base at Marneuli and Vaziani located just outside the capital of Tblisi has sustained heavy damage from Russian strikes that have killed Georgian military personnel as well as civilians and destroyed Georgian military aircraft.
• Tblisi was bombed just 30 minutes prior to the arrival of the Finnish and French foreign ministers for peace talks.

Abkhaz “Second Front”

• Russian forces in the breakaway region of Abkhazia are shelling Georgian positions and opening a second front to further stretch the Georgian military. Combined with the arrival of the Russian warships this further demonstrates Russian attempts to destroy the Georgian state’s ability to support and defend
  itself.

Georgian Peace Efforts

• Following the initial attack by Russian-South Ossetian forces and an exchange of fire, President Saakashvili ordered Georgian forces to not respond to the hostile fire in an attempt to contain the conflict. However, as shelling intensified against Georgian villages and civilian deaths mounted, he was forced to order defensive strikes to prevent additional civilian casualties and deaths.
• Georgia is asking for an immediate cease fire, an international peacekeeping forces that can be deployed in the conflict zone, and the pullout from Georgian territory of all Russian forces.

Diplomatic Actions

• President Bush continued his call for an end to the fighting and the pullback of all Russian forces and “respect for Georgian sovereignty.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/08/20080809-2.html
• Russia rejects Georgian peace offers. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, spokesman for the Russian army general staff, told reporters today, "there are no, and there cannot be, any direct contacts with Georgia."http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ossetia11-2008aug11,0,584219.story?page=2&track=rss
• Russia is also demanding a non-use-of-force agreement for Georgia to sign as a precondition to any peace talks. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080810/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_south_ossetia
• The fourth session in as many days at the UNSC was unable to come to an agreement to stop the fighting. Another session of the UNSC is scheduled for today.
• A delegation of EU and OSCE diplomats has now arrived in Tbilisi for peace talks. That delegation includes EU special representative to Georgia Peter Semneby, special representative to the South Caucasus Heikki Talvitie
  and a representative of France, which is currently chairing the EU.
• The US will follow mediation efforts and dispatch a special envoy shortly according to media reports.

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Previous Russian Military
Action During the Past Year

• The attacks now taking place follow an ongoing series of hostile Russian acts of military aggression that since October 2006 have included Russian bombings of Georgian villages in Kodori (October 2006 and March 2007), and a subsequent bombing of a village in South Ossetia (August 2007). Just two months ago a Russian fighter shot down an unarmed, Georgian observation drone flying a reconnaissance mission over Abkhazia—sovereign Georgian territory and a direct violation of the UN cease-fire agreement. Moreover, during this period Russian forces have provoked Georgian police and other units monitoring the conflict line between both South Ossetia and Abkhazia in an effort to increase tensions and create armed conflict.

Why and What Drives Russian
Actions

• The Georgian people are dedicated to establishing a democratic society based on individual freedoms, human rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law. The Georgian people are set on an unalterable course for joining western
  institutions that include the European Union and NATO. These member states share the values Georgians’ cherish—and Russia views this as a threat.
• Read Vladimir Socor’s piece on Russian motivations, The Goals Behind Moscow’s Proxy Offensive in South Ossetia, http://jamestown.org/edm/
• Read Richard Holbroke’s prescient piece Putin Tries to Depose a Neighbor, November 27, 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/08/AR2008080803336.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
• Read Ralph Peter’s recent article in the New York Post, Raping Georgia, http://www.nypost.com/seven/08092008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/raping_georgia_123664.htm?page=0