Lavrov: Georgia Could Attack Again - Video
September 10, 2008
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili still hasn’t provided sufficient assurances that the country won’t attack South Ossetia and Abkhazia, according to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Such a guarantee was the only precondition Russia issued for the complete withdrawal of its troops from the region.
“We have only demanded that Mikhail Saakashvili does one thing - pledges not to use force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia. He still hasn’t given any clear guarantees of that. The European Union did it for him,” said Sergey Lavrov
The Russian foreign minister also warned the European Union that the Georgian government could try to re-ignite the conflict.
Russian Troops on Their Way Home - Video
August 22, 2008
Russian forces have begun a full-scale withdrawal from Georgian territory following last week’s conflict in South Ossetia. The withdrawal got under way at 6am Moscow time. Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said it would be completed on Friday.
The minister said troops would begin an organised withdrawal from Georgia’s territory to South Ossetia.
“Only Russian peacekeeping units will remain at specially equipped security check-posts within the limits of security zones established in line with coordinated security principles, which Russia strictly abides by,” said Serdyukov.
He added that the withdrawal complied with earlier orders given by President Dmitry Medvedev.
The Defence Minister has confirmed that Russian forces will complete their withdrawal from Georgia proper by Friday.
Following last week’s ceasefire agreement, troops attached to the peacekeeping contingent have been stationed inside Georgia proper to provide added security.
During hostilities, Georgian authorities fled towns in the conflict zone, abandoning civilians.
Russian troops have overseen deliveries of humanitarian aid and maintained order before handing the towns over to the control of Georgian police.
Russia’s navy sails home
The first Russian warship to leave the coast of Abkhasia has returned to its base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol.
According to reports, the ‘Corvette Mirazh’ sunk a Georgian missile boat while taking part in the peace enforcement operation near Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhasia.
Other vessels, including the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s flagship, are due to return later.
Ukrainian nationalists planned a large scale protest against the Fleet, but only a few dozen demonstrators turned up.
Russia’s air force has also returned from the area.
“The air grouping which operated in the interests of Russian peacekeepers in South Abkhazia has fulfilled the tasks set,” said Russia’s Deputy General Staff Anaytoly Nogovitsyn on Friday.
“Twenty-five attack aircraft and three fighter jets yesterday returned to their bases,” Nogovitsyn said.
Link to Story:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29347
Link to Video:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29347/video
Source: Russia Today, August 2008
Georgia is Boosting Military Offensive Potential - Russia
August 22, 2008
Georgia is boosting military offensive potential - Russia
Russia is very concerned about the recent growth of Georgia’s military potential, according to the Deputy Chief of Russia’s General Staff, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn.
Nogovitsyn said Georgia occupied a leading position in the world as far as the speed of its military expenditure growth is concerned. According to Nogovitsyn, in 2002 it had a defence budget of $US 18 million and by 2008 it has soared 50-fold to $US 900 million.
According to some estimates, Tbilisi is spending 8.5 per cent of the country’s GDP on its military.
In the period from 2006 to 2007, the number of Georgia’s military personnel doubled.
”Since 2005, the number of Georgia’s tanks has increased from 98 to 183, armoured vehicles from 83 to 134, artillery weapons from 96 to 238, combat helicopters from three to nine and warplanes from seven to nine,” Nogovitsyn said.
Link to Story:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29365
Link to Video:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29365/video
Source: Russia Today, August 2008
State of Emergency Lifted in Ossetia - Video
August 21, 2008
The state of emergency imposed in South Ossetia since the end of hostilities has been lifted. Life in the republic is gradually returning to normal as thousands of refugees make their way home. Russian emergency teams have almost fully restored public utilities in the region.
Harmony in ruined capital
The principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of St.Peretsburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev, will lead a concert in Tskhinvali at 16:00 GMT on Thursday.
For more on this please follow the link.
Tskhinvali restoration
More than 15,000 people have already returned to the capital since the fighting ended but Russia’s Emergencies Ministry says it needs more help from local people to rebuild South Ossetia’s devastated infrastructure. Progress is being made and restoration work is in full swing, with the water supply to the capital Tskhinvali having been almost been fully restored. Another key task is to repair broken windows before cold weather sets in.
The authorities have pledged to restore at least four schools before September 1 and hospitals are also at the top of the reconstruction list.
Russia is to spend $US 60 million by the end of the year on the reconstruction of South Ossetia’s infrastructure.
More than 3,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid have already arrived from various Russian regions, mostly consisting of food, clothes, medical supplies and construction materials.
The Chechen Republic has also joined the humanitarian aid programme for the region. It is providing food and construction materials.
Russian combat engineers are still involved in mine-clearing operations in South Ossetia. They say they have already found and defused about 300 unexploded mines and artillery shells across the region.
Meanwhile, officials in South Ossetia have given a figure for the number of people killed during Georgia’s failed military offensive to win control of the region. Authorities in the capital Tskhinvali say 1,492 Ossetians lost their lives in the conflict.
According to officials, the capital Tskhinvali and the surrounding area suffered the greatest losses.
Many foreign journalists have received accreditation to work in the region and are being given guided tours by local officials to show them the scale of the damage and devastation.
Locals’ reaction to the pull-out of Russian troops from Georgia has been negative. They fear with Russian forces out of the region, Georgia might attack again.
According to Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Russian Defence Ministry, who was speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, 64 Russian soldiers were killed in action and 323 were wounded.
To watch the full news conference click here.
Jewish neighbourhood destroyed
It was not only South Ossetians who suffered as a result of Georgia’s attack on Tskhinvali. An entire Jewish neighbourhood has been wiped out as well.
Witnesses say it’s now hard to find a home that’s left intact in the district where dozens of Jewish families used to live.
RT found one Jewish family remaining in war-torn Tskhinvali - for more follow the link.
Local Georgians
Meanwhile, ethnic Georgians who lived in the area prior to the conflict had to leave in a hurry leaving most of their belongings.
According to some estimates, before August 8, 2008, Georgians made up a third of South Ossetian population. Very few stayed and their relations with the local population are now very strained.
U.N. High Commissioner visits North Ossetia
Thousands of refugees from the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict are staying in temporary shelters in Russia’s North Ossetia.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres is in North Ossetia’s Vladikavkaz where he is to spend the next two days assessing the situation. He is to meet Russian officials and humanitarian groups.
He says he is there to provide all the necessary assistance to Russian authorities.
Antonio Guterres has added he is aware of the extraordinary effort made by Russia to support the victims of the conflict.
Link to Story:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29302
Link to Video:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29302/video
Source: Russia today, August 2008
Russians Dig Entrenchments in Poti - Video
August 20, 2008
Russian occupants started digging entrenchments in Poti. Russian `BMP` armored tanks and `URAL` cars are located at the Nabadi territory at the entrance of the city.
Russians reinforce their positions along railway and highway. Not excluded that saboteurs to mine bridges in order to block the supply of Humanitarian aid. Today in Poti Airspace two Russian helicopters appeared. `MI-24` and `MI-8` control airspace where Russian military hardware is stationed. Occupants also landed arm units in the city.
Link to Story:
rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=27520&pg=1&im=main&ct=0&wth=
Link to video:
rustavi2.com/news/video.php?fr=video&id_news=27520&lang=eng&ftp1=1&ftp2=0&ftp3=0
Source: Rustavi 2 Broadcasting Co., August 2008
Russians Release Georgian Governor After 2-Hour Detention - Video
August 20, 2008
Russian soldiers released the governor of Shida Kartli Region, Lado Vardzelashvili after 2-hour long detention. As the governor told Rustavi2 in a telephone interview, he was arrested at one of the illegal checkpoints of Russian militaries as he was trying to release the trucks with humanitarian aid to the population of the city of Gory and surrounding villages.
Link to Story:
rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=27516&pg=1&im=main&ct=0&wth=
Link to Video:
rustavi2.com/news/video.php?fr=video&id_news=27516&lang=eng&ftp1=1&ftp2=0&ftp3=0
Source: Russia Today, August 2008
CoE Envoys Travel to Gori After Being Halted by Russians
August 20, 2008
After one-hour negotiations, Russian occupants allowed the representatives of the Council of Europe Monitoring Committee to enter Gori. Matyas Eorsi and Kastrio Islam were stopped at the Igoeti check-point.
Later Mr. Eorsi commented for the media. `We are at the territory of Georgia and we see the Russian Army does not allow us to move into Georgian City. The good news I am able to tell you is that the International Community stands side by side supporting Georgia. The most important is that Russian Army should leave the occupied territory. We will do all our best Russian Army to leave Georgian land. It is incomprehensible that Georgian journalists are not allowed by Russian soldiers to enter Georgian cities, this is real occupation. We have to remember that Russia is member state of Council of Europe and it occupies another member. The history does not recall the same precedent and Europe must act severely against such case. President Medvedev promised us several times that Russian Army would leave, but I saw on main road Russian military movements. That means there is no sign of their leaving` – says the head of monitoring committee of Council of Europe.
Link to Story:
rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=27521&pg=1&im=main&ct=0&wth=
Link to Video:
rustavi2.com/news/video.php?fr=video&id_news=27521&lang=eng&ftp1=1&ftp2=0&ftp3=0
Source: Rustavi 2 Broadcasting Co., August 2008
Medvedev Promises Withdrawal by Friday - Video
August 20, 2008
Russia will withdraw its peacekeeping contingent from Georgia to the temporary security zone by August 22. The rest of the troops will be moved back to South Ossetia and Russia. President Medvedev made the promise in a telephone conversation with France’s President Sarkozy on Tuesday.
According to Russian authorities, it will take longer to withdraw than expected because many roads have been blocked or damaged.
Speaking at a news briefing in Moscow, Russian General Staff Deputy Head, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said, “We are currently pulling out rear units and heavy weaponry”.
”We are also clearing withdrawal routes as the Georgian army left a lot of weaponry including tanks on the roads, which are hindering the withdrawal,” he said.
Nogovitsyn stressed the troops are not being completely withdrawn, but will be pulled back to the South Ossetian border to continue providing protection and stability in the region.
“The decision made by the Joint Control Commission in 1999, which is the only legitimate document we are using as our guidelines and which has been signed by the Georgian side as well, says that a special commission determines where peacekeeping forces will be located, based on the situation on the ground and the existing threats,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Russian military is claiming that some of the Georgian military units in the region are acting without command and are out of President Saakashvili’s control. They are allegedly preparing acts of sabotage against Russian troops stationed in the region.
Russian peacekeepers have disarmed a group of 20 servicemen in the Georgian coastal city of Poti, and have handed them over to Georgian authorities. Russian troops will remain in Poti until a local administration is formed in the city.
Prisoner exchange
On Tuesday Nogovitsyn confirmed Georgia had no more captured Russian servicemen. Russia handed 15 Georgian servicemen over to Georgia and received five Russians in exchange, including two pilots.
Link to Story:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29241
Link to Video:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29241/video
Source: Russia Today, August 2008
Georgian War Leaves 1,492 Ossetians Dead - Local Authorities - Video
August 20, 2008
The total number of casualties of the Georgian – South Ossetian conflict has been revealed. According to local authorities the conflict has claimed the lives of 1492 Ossetians.
According to Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Russian Defence Ministry, who was speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, 64 Russian soldiers were killed in action and 323 were wounded.
To watch the full news conference click here.
Meanwhile, more than 5,000 people from South Ossetia are still in refugee camps in the south of Russia.
Approximately 30,000 people fled from Georgia’s offensive on August 8. According to officials, some 15,000 of them have returned over the last week.
Tskhinvali restoration
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry says it needs the help of local people to rebuild South Ossetia’s devastated infrastructure. Progress is being made and restoration work is in full swing, with the water supply to the capital Tskhinvali having been almost been fully restored. Another key task is to repair broken windows before cold weather sets in.
The authorities have pledged to restore schools before September 1 and hospitals are also at the top of the reconstruction list.
Many foreign journalists have received accreditation to work in the region and are being given guided tours by local officials to show them the scale of the damage and devastation.
Locals’ reaction to the pull-out of Russian troops from Georgia has been negative. They fear with Russian forces out of the region, Georgia might attack again.
Russian combat engineers are still involved in mine-clearing operations in South Ossetia and they’re still finding unexploded mines and artillery shells across the region.
Russia is to spend $US 60 million by the end of the year on the reconstruction of South Ossetia’s infrastructure.
The Chechen Republic has also joined the humanitarian aid programme for the region. It is providing food and construction materials.
Link to Story:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29271
Link to Video:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29271/video
Source: Russia Today
War Photographer Laid to Rest - Video
August 20, 2008
During the five days of severe fighting the Georgia-South Ossetia military confrontation claimed the lives not only of troops and civilians, but media workers as well. At least four journalists were killed and more than ten injured during the conflict.
No parent should have to bury their own child. But it was the only thing Yulia Klimchuk prayed for. Her son Aleksandr was killed in the first days of the Georgian assault. And if it wasn’t for his colleagues in Russia, his Georgian family might never have recovered his body.
Aleksandr was a photographer for the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS. Based in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, he often covered tensions between Georgia and its breakaway republic.
His colleague Elena Munusova recalled that they would often ask him to take some shots of Tbilisi, but he would say: “No, I prefer working in news, making political reports”. He liked to work in extreme spots.
When Georgia launched its ground incursion into South Ossetia, Aleksandr and his colleague Gigi Chikhladze were travelling with the Georgian troops. Nobody knows for sure what happened to them.
Sergey Uzakov, also a photographer for ITAR-TASS, said: “Doctors can’t tell me how they died. I was only told their bodies were picked up on the road by Russian troops and delivered here, to Tskhinvali morgue. But it’s very mysterious.”
Sergey identified the body and promised Yulia that she would have a chance to bury her son. With the help of other journalists stationed in Tskhinvali he found two metal coffins and drove them across the border into Georgia.
“Other journalists have joined us here. Our friends from AP, Reuters, France Press, and Time are here now and we all see it as our duty to complete this,” Uzakov said.
Oleg Panfilov from the Center for Extreme Journalism says that the “working conditions for journalists were terrible. Of all the war conflicts in the post-Soviet space and the Balkans, this was the worst time for journalists.”
But other photographers who have been working in the conflict zone say all wars are the same. And in the midst of death and destruction there’s always a place for self-sacrifice and professional brotherhood.
Link to Story:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29251
Link to Video:
www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29251/video
Source: Russia Today