Day Two of Russian Invasion of Georgia

WAR NEWS

Here are a couple of videos, the first from Russia Today English language service:

And here is a slide show put to music, told from the Georgian point of view:



**update** 1.33 PM

Gateway Pundit has details of the a Russian missile attack on an oil pipeline that may threaten Europe's oil lifeline.

Here is a street level view of the fighting from the Georgian point of view as Russian forces attack the city of Gori in Georgia:



And here are a few articles about the conflict:

AS I write, Russian tanks grind into a brave and isolated democratic state.

Assuming that the world's attention would focus on Beijing, Moscow stage-managed an elaborate act of aggression against Georgia.

But the world has changed since Soviet tanks rolled unchallenged into Afghanistan at Christmastime 29 years ago. Global communications now spotlight aggression instantly.

Yesterday, the world didn't watch the Olympic opening ceremonies (the Chinese must be furious at the Russians). Instead, we saw images of Soviet - sorry, I meant Russian - aircraft pounding Georgian territory as Russian armor rolled over the Caucasus Mountains.

The Kremlin is determined to break Georgia's will - and keep the feisty republic out of NATO.

Source: NY Post "RAPING GEORGIA--RUSSIA INVADES AN AMERICAN ALLY"

The Russian war aim in Georgia, inasmuch as it may be discerned after a bare 48 hours of full combat, appears to be what I said it likely is: “the Russians [will] fully occupy South Ossetia, along with the other secessionist region of Georgia, Abkhazia; declare them both independent or somehow annexed; and thoroughly punish the Georgians with a countrywide air campaign targeting what meager infrastructure there is.” As if to swiftly confirm the hypothesis, we see today that the Abkhazians have joined the war, thus opening a second front against the Georgians. Quite nearly everything that can go wrong for the Caucasian republic has: Georgian forces have been fully ejected from South Ossetia; Russian troops are landing on the Abkhaz coast (it’s unclear whether at Sukhumi or Ochamchira); Russian air power is hitting strategic targets throughout Georgia; and at this writing — just after dawn in the Caucasus — a general Russian offensive may be underway.

Source: Brussels Journal

Georgia has said that Russian aircraft bombed the an airport in the capital Tbilisi, just hours after Georgia's parliament approved a decree saying the country is in a "state of war".

Moscow has dismissed Tbilisi's calls for an immediate ceasefire as the fighting continued to spread across Georgia and more Russian tanks rolled into the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

"Russian jet fighters have dropped three bombs on Tbilisi's airport," Shota Utiashvili, the head of the Georgian interior ministry's information department, told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Tbilisi, confirmed that three loud explosions had been heard from the direction of the airport.

Source: Gateway Pundit

BAGHDAD -- The commander of the 2,000 Georgian troops in Iraq said Saturday that his soldiers would leave the country to join the fight against Russia over a separatist Georgian republic.

Though relatively small in number, the Georgians have made up the third-largest force of foreign troops in Iraq, behind the United States and Britain. They mostly have been deployed to bolster security along the border with Iran, where U.S. officials say bombs that cause most American troop deaths are smuggled into the country.

Source: LA Times

RUSSIAN forces have taken control of the main city in South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, Georgian interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP today.
Earlier, media reports said Russian warships had set up a sea blockade to prevent arms and other military supplies from reaching Georgia, quoting a source in the Russian naval command.

"Our navy sailors have been assigned the task of preventing arms and other military supplies from reaching Georgia by sea,'' the source said.

Source: Adelaide Advertiser

The Russian Navy has confirmed that a section of its Black Sea Fleet is en route to the Georgian coastline. The task force includes a missile cruiser. Military officials insist the operation is to help refugees and is not part of an operation to blockade Georgia.

Source: Russia Today "Russian Warships Sail for Georgia"

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine warned Russia on Sunday it could bar Russian navy ships from returning to their base in the Crimea because of their deployment to Georgia's coast.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said the deployment of a Russian naval squadron to Georgia's Black sea coast has the potential of drawing Ukraine into the conflict.

"In order to prevent the circumstances in which Ukraine could be drawn into a military conflict ... Ukraine reserves the right to bar ships which may take part in these actions from returning to the Ukrainian territory until the conflict is solved," said the statement which was posted on the ministry's Web site.

Source: Yahoo! News "Ukraine says it reserves right to bar Russian navy "


And here is a force comparison between Russia and Georgia:

Soldiers
Russia 395,000
Georgia 32,000 (2,000 of them returning from Iraq to defend their homeland)


Main Battle Tanks
Russia 23,000
Georgia 128


Armored Personnel Carriers
Russia 9,900
Georgia 44


Artillery pieces
Russia 26,000
Georgia 109


Attack aircraft
Russia 1,809
Georgia 8


Helicopters
Russia 1,932
Georgia 37


These numbers were from the Reuters via the LA Times.

Previously:

Monitoring the War in Georgia

Russia Invades Georgia

Russia Preparing To Invade Georgia? (Updated)