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Escalating situation in (country of) Georgia (pg. 16)
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| DrUg_Tit0 |
| I was going to reply to Atmos and Latin Lover, but then I remembered that old saying..don't argue with idiots, they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience... |
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| CGRumler |
| quote: | Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
don't argue with idiots, they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience... |
:haha:
LMAO, I must remember that one for future usage! |
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| St_Andrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
I was going to reply to Atmos and Latin Lover, but then I remembered that old saying..don't argue with idiots, they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience... |
But it can be so much fun sometimes, remember the old good times with the ignorance of people like woahnellie :D |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by Atmos
Ok, I hate to break it to you but war requires sacrifice, it requires death, time, money, honor, discipline, and so much more than just words. |
I'de like to know what sacrifice you have made for this war. I'll start by the sacrifice of my father's service in Iraq. I haven't seen him for over 3 years. This doesn't mean I have to support the war...
| quote: | | None of the freedoms you see yourself with today that you take for granted would even exist if it woouldnt be for the sacrifices made by millions in the past. Get that idealistic peaceful world society out of your mind cause it wont get you anywhere. |
First of all, I hold my increasingly dilapidated freedom to the highest ideal. In fact, I don't believe we have enough freedom. So don't dish out this, "you take your freedoms for granted" BULL. If you are trying to tell me this invasion of Iraq was to defend our freedom, then you're minded by the radical nationalists in charge of this country.
| quote: | | On 9/11, terrorist attacks in the US changed us completely. If you're some conspirator than it will be very hard to get my message across. But, here we go. Behind these attacks was Osama and al-Qaeda. |
Nope, not a conspiracy theorist. Tell me something I don't know..
| quote: | | Ok so we go into afghanistan, everyones ok with that, but we have a military dictator in Iraq who is developing nuclear energy and who "supposedly" has WMD's.. The intelligence has been wrong many times before in the past. Anyway, this dictator is opressing his nation on extreme levels...thats already enough reason for me,understanding the hardships of opression. Also, we have him funding al-Qaeda which leads intelligence to believe that if he does have such WMD's, than those can be handed over to the oh so rich Osama bin Laden. |
I'm not ok with occupying Afghanistan. Iraq was not a military dictatorship. It was a BAATHIST dictatorship. Who cares? North Korea is a dictatorship. Burma has a military dictatorship. Saudi Arabia is under a monarchial theocratic dictatorship. You must want to invade them too. The Israelis destroyed Iraq's nuclear program in the early 1980's. The intelligence were actually telling the leadership that THERE WERE NO WMDs. It was the leadership who told the intelligence TO FIND THE EVIDENCE OF WMDs, which implies a predetermination that there are WMDs.
I am also very not surprised you are one of those uninformed people who still say Saddam supported Al-Qaida. The FACT is, the Baathist regime in Iraq did not collude with Al-Qaida, PLAIN & SIMPLE. Read the freaking 9/11 Commission Report, and every other CIA/intelligence report out there that debunks everything the Bush Administration said about Iraq. The fact you're here spewing this misinformation makes plain what little credibility you have.
| quote: | | We invaded for National Security purposes and for morality. |
Iraq posed no threat to our security. And morality? What are you? A crusader? A country which invades another for "moral" reasons is hypocritical, and tyrannical.
| quote: | | Everyone supported the war in the beginning, loving the idea of America liberating an opressed nation, but slowly began becoming worried about the length and commitment that had to be made. |
No, not everyone supported the war, you're very wrong here. Over 30 million people around the world participated in over 3000 protests against the Iraq invasion. Funny you believe in such an illusion.
| quote: | | Can't you see past the sacrifice that has to be made and look onto a future with possibilities, democracy, and an ally in such a hostile region? |
The past sacrifice? For what are we sacrificing for? Iraq? Iraq. I would never spend $1 trillion and tens of thousands of dead and wounded Americans just so we can tell Iraq what to do. They didn't ask us to come in.
| quote: | Now you tell me Russia's reason for invading Georgia.
Protecting their citizens? BULL! Why the are they in Gori now? Why the hell are they bombing international airports? Why the hell do they have so many tanks, soldiers, and ing artillery when Georgia is a small 1 million nation.
Tell me. |
Russia is invading Georgia much of the very reasons America invaded Iraq. They want a Moscow-friendly regime in Georgia. They want control of the oil pipelines that run through the country. They want no more NATO encroachment on their perceived region of influence. I believe Russia's invasion of Georgia is very much wrong, but who are you, who are the American's, to tell Russia they can't or shouldn't do it, if America does the exact same thing, which much worse results.
I hate hypocrites...:rolleyes: |
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| Krypton |
The Georgian military is being routed on all fronts. The army is demoralized, and are fleeing Gori in disarray. This is not a retreat. It is a rout. Why hasn't the Georgian military trained in asymmetrical warfare, especially with a potential adversary like Russia...
| quote: | Georgian army flees in disarray as Russians advance
Georgia�s army was in complete disarray tonight after troops and tanks fled the city of Gori in panic and abandoned it to the Russians without firing a shot.
As Russian armoured columns rolled deep into central and western Georgia, seizing several towns and a military base, President Saakashvili said his country had been cut in half.
For the first time since the crisis erupted last Thursday, Russia admitted that its troops had moved out of Abkhazia, the other breakaway region under Moscow�s protection, and seized the town of Senaki in Georgia proper. Russian officials again insisting that they had no intention of occupying territory beyond South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Georgia said the Russian army was also in charge of the towns of Zugdidi and Kurga in the west and its tanks appeared to moving from the north and the west towards Tbilisi, the capital.
The retreat from Gori, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, was as humiliating as it was sudden and dramatic. The Times witnessed scores of tanks and armoured personnel carriers, laden with soldiers, speeding through the city away from what Georgian officials claimed was an imminent Russian invasion.
Residents watched in horror as their army abandoned its positions after a day of increasingly aggressive exchanges of fire along the border with South Ossetia, the breakaway region now fully under Russian control.
Jeeps and pick-up trucks filled with Georgian soldiers raced through the streets, their occupants frantically signalling to civilians that they too should flee. The road out of Gori towards Tbilisi was a scene of chaos and fear as cars jockeyed with tanks for a speedy escape.
Soldiers were leaving by any means available � dozens of troops clung to cars on the back of a transporter lorry, while five other soldiers were fleeing on a single quad bike.
A tank had exploded on the mountain road leaving Gori, though it was unclear what had caused the incident. The Times passed an armoured car in flames, soldiers leaping from the roof of the vehicle, which had apparently caught fire while trying to bulldoze the tank�s burning shell out of the way.
Columns of Georgian tanks and heavy weaponry filled the road during the 50-mile journey back to Tbilisi as thousands of soldiers, many looking totally demoralised, headed for the capital. Police sealed off the highway from Tbilisi, turning back the very few cars that ventured towards Gori.
It was unclear tonight where the tanks were heading, but many of the troops regrouped on the outskirts of Tbilisi as if preparing to make a stand to defend the capital. Some artillery pieces had also been sited on the approach road from Gori.
The panic had been triggered at about 5pm, when troops suddenly started pouring out of Gori. Frantic officials from Georgia�s Ministry of Interior claimed that up to 7,000 Russian troops with tanks were heading for the city and claimed it was under imminent threat of bombardment.
A similar panic had ensued on Sunday night as thousands of people poured from the city, in what turned out to be false alarm. The fear this time was more tangible, the sense of threat more real as Gori�s streets emptied rapidly.
Not everyone was prepared to leave, however. One man told The Times: �This is my city, I will never leave it even if the Russians come here and kill me. Why should I go to Tbilisi and wait for them there?�
The Georgian government, which is appealing for international support, claimed later that Russian troops had entered Gori, though there was no independent confirmation of this.
As the noose appeared to tighten around Tbilisi, the State Department evacuated more than 170 US citizens. Poland and several other former Soviet satellites voiced fears that the fighting signalled Russia's willingness to use force to regain its dominance of the region.
Even at the height of chaos, Georgia�s legendary hospitality never faltered. A 70-year-old woman named Eteri retreated into her home and appeared moments later to offer apples from her garden to guests.
�I am not afraid,� she said. �We have lived with the Russians for a hundred years so why do we need this war now? I don�t want to be with America, I think we should live peacefully with the Russians.� |
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/ne...icle4509692.ece |
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| Krypton |
Russia is now invading Georgia full force. Georgian forces are being routed in panic on all fronts.
| quote: | Georgia claims Russians have cut country in half
GORI, Georgia (AP) - Russian forces seized several towns and a military base deep in western Georgia on Monday, opening a second front in the fighting. Georgia's president said his country had been effectively cut in half with the capture of the main east-west highway near Gori.
Fighting also raged Monday around Tskhinvali, the capital of the separatist province of South Ossetia. Russian warplanes launched new air raids across Georgia, with at least one sending screaming civilians running for cover.
The reported capture of the key Georgian city of Gori and the towns of Senaki, Zugdidi and Kurga came despite a top Russian general's claim earlier Monday that Russia had no plans to enter Georgian territory. By taking Gori, which sits on Georgia's only east-west highway, Russia can cut off eastern Georgia from the country's western Black Sea coast.
"(Russian forces) came to the central route and cut off connections between western and eastern Georgia," Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told a national security meeting.
The news agency Interfax, however, cited a Russian Defense Ministry official as denying Gori was captured. Attempts to reach Gori residents by telephone late Monday did not go through.
Security Council head Alexander Lomaia said Monday it was not immediately clear if Russian forces would advance on Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. But the Russian Defense Ministry denied such intentions, the Interfax and RIA-Novosti news agencies said.
At Georgia's request, U.N. Security Council in New York called an emergency session for later Monday - the fifth meeting on the fighting in as many days.
The two-front battlefield was a major escalation in the conflict that blew up late Thursday after a Georgian offensive to regain control of the separatist province of South Ossetia. Even as Saakashvili signed a cease-fire pledge Monday with EU mediators, Russia flexed its military muscle and appeared determined to subdue the small U.S. ally that has been pressing for NATO membership.
On Monday afternoon, Russian troops invaded Georgia from the western separatist province of Abkhazia while most Georgian forces were busy with fighting in the central region around South Ossetia.
Russian armored personnel carriers moved into Senaki, a town 20 miles inland from Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti, Lomaia said. Russian news agencies late Monday cited the Defense Ministry as saying the troops had left Senaki "after liquidating the danger," but did not give details.
Russian forces also moved into Zugdidi, near Abkhazia, and seized police stations, while their Abkhazian allies took control of the nearby village of Kurga, according to witnesses and Georgian officials.
In Zugdidi, an AP reporter saw five or six Russian soldiers posted outside an Interior Ministry building. Several tanks and other armored vehicles were moving through the town but the streets were nearly deserted, with shops, restaurants and banks all shut down.
In the city of Gori, an AP reporter heard artillery fire and Georgian soldiers warned locals to get out because Russian tanks were approaching. Hundreds of terrified residents fled toward Tbilisi using any means of transport they could find. Many stood along the road trying to flag down passing cars.
An APTV film crew saw Georgian tanks and military vehicles speeding along the road from Gori to Tbilisi. Firing began and people ran for cover. A couple of cars could be seen in flames along the side of the road.
Georgia borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia and was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. Both provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have run their own affairs without international recognition since fighting to split from Georgia in the early 1990s - and both have close ties with Moscow.
Georgia began an offensive to regain control over South Ossetia late Thursday with heavy shelling and air strikes that ravaged South Ossetia's provincial capital of Tskhinvali.
The Russia response was swift and overpowering - thousands of troops that shelled the Georgians until they fled Tskhinvali on Sunday, and four days of bombing raids across Georgia.
Yet Georgia's pledge of a cease-fire rang hollow Monday. An AP reporter saw a small group of Georgian fighters open fire on a column of Russian and Ossetian military vehicles outside Tskhinvali, triggering a 30-minute battle. The Russians later said all the Georgians were killed.
Another AP reporter was in the village of Tkviavi, 7 1/2 miles south of Tskhinvali inside Georgia, when a bomb from a Russian Sukhoi warplane struck a house. The walls of neighboring buildings fell as screaming residents ran for cover. Eighteen people were wounded.
Georgian artillery fire was heard coming from fields about 200 yards away from the village, perhaps the bomber's target.
Hundreds of Georgian troops headed north Monday along the road toward Tskhinvali, pocked with tank regiments creeping up the highway into South Ossetia. Hundreds of other soldiers traveled via trucks in the opposite direction, towing light artillery weapons.
President Bush and other Western leaders have sharply criticized Russia's military response as disproportionate and say Russia appears to want the Georgian government overthrown. They have also complained that Russian warplanes - buzzing over Georgia since Friday - have bombed Georgian oil sites and factories far from the conflict zone.
The world's seven largest economic powers urged Russia to accept an immediate cease-fire Monday and agree to international mediation. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her colleagues from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations spoke by telephone and pledged their support for a negotiated solution to the conflict.
"I've expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Ossetia," Bush told NBC Sports.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin criticized the United States for viewing Georgia as the victim, instead of the aggressor, and for airlifting Georgian troops back home from Iraq on Sunday.
"Of course, Saddam Hussein ought to have been hanged for destroying several Shiite villages," Putin said in Moscow. "And the incumbent Georgian leaders who razed ten Ossetian villages at once, who ran elderly people and children with tanks, who burned civilian alive in their sheds - these leaders must be taken under protection."
The U.S. military was flying Georgian troops back home from Iraq and informed the Russians about the flights ahead of time to avoid mishaps, said one military official said Monday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the subject on the record.
Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said Monday morning that U.S. officials expect to have all Georgian troops out of Iraq by the end of the day.
Pentagon officials said Monday that U.S. military was assessing the fighting every day to determine whether less than 100 U.S. trainers should be pulled out of the country.
There had been about 130 trainers, including a few dozen civilian contractors, but the civilians had been scheduled to rotate out of the country and did so over the weekend, Whitman said. The remaining uniformed trainers were moved the weekend to what officials believe is a safer location, he said.
Whitman said he didn't know whether the civilian trainers were among the 170 that the State Department said it had evacuated.
Saakashvili signed a cease-fire pledge Monday proposed by the French and Finnish foreign ministers. The EU envoys headed to Moscow to try to persuade Russia to accept it.
Saakashvili, however, voiced concern that Russia's true goal was to undermine his pro-Western government. "It's all about the independence and democracy of Georgia," he said.
Saakashvili said Russia has sent 20,000 troops and 500 tanks into Georgia. He said Russian warplanes were bombing roads and bridges, destroying radar systems and targeting Tbilisi's civilian airport. One Russian bombing raid struck the Tbilisi airport area only a half-hour before the EU envoys arrived, he said.
Another hit near key Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which carries Caspian crude to the West. No supply interruptions have been reported.
Abkhazia's separatists declared Sunday they would push Georgian forces out of the northern part of the Kodori Gorge, the only area of Abkhazia still under Georgian control.
Before invading western Georgia, Russia's deputy chief of General Staff Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn demanded Monday that Georgia disarm its police in Zugdidi, a town just outside Abkhazia. Still he insisted "We are not planning any offensive."
At least 9,000 Russian troops and 350 armored vehicles were in Abkhazia, according to a Russian military commander.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said more than 2,000 people have been killed in South Ossetia since Friday, most of them Ossetians with Russian passports. The figures could not be independently confirmed, but refugees who fled Tskhinvali over the weekend said hundreds had been killed.
Many found shelter in the Russian province of North Ossetia.
"The Georgians burned all of our homes," said one elderly woman, as she sat on a bench under a tree with three other white-haired survivors. "The Georgians say it is their land. Where is our land, then?" |
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080811/D92G94PG0.html |
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| djeso |
| quote: | Originally posted by Xavier Moriarty
now wait just a minute. didnt america went to iraq because of weapons of mass destruction???
its so ing AWESOME how everybody forgot about that in less than 5 years. |
you should read his post thoroughly .... just a thought |
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| aNYthing |
Saakashvili's opinion commentary in WSJ:
| quote: |
The War in Georgia Is a War for the West
By MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI
August 11, 2008; Page A15
Tbilisi, Georgia
As I write, Russia is waging war on my country.
On Friday, hundreds of Russian tanks crossed into Georgian territory, and Russian air force jets bombed Georgian airports, bases, ports and public markets. Many are dead, many more wounded. This invasion, which echoes Afghanistan in 1979 and the Prague Spring of 1968, threatens to undermine the stability of the international security system.
The Kremlin designed this war. Earlier this year, Russia tried to provoke Georgia by effectively annexing another of our separatist territories, Abkhazia. When we responded with restraint, Moscow brought the fight to South Ossetia.
Ostensibly, this war is about an unresolved separatist conflict. Yet in reality, it is a war about the independence and the future of Georgia. And above all, it is a war over the kind of Europe our children will live in. Let us be frank: This conflict is about the future of freedom in Europe.
No country of the former Soviet Union has made more progress toward consolidating democracy, eradicating corruption and building an independent foreign policy than Georgia. This is precisely what Russia seeks to crush.
This conflict is therefore about our common trans-Atlantic values of liberty and democracy. It is about the right of small nations to live freely and determine their own future. It is about the great power struggles for influence of the 20th century, versus the path of integration and unity defined by the European Union of the 21st. Georgia has made its choice.
When my government was swept into power by a peaceful revolution in 2004, we inherited a dysfunctional state plagued by two unresolved conflicts dating to the early 1990s. I pledged to reunify my country -- not by the force of arms, but by making Georgia a pole of attraction. I wanted the people living in the conflict zones to share in the prosperous, democratic country that Georgia could -- and has -- become.
In a similar spirit, we sought friendly relations with Russia, which is and always will be Georgia's neighbor. We sought deep ties built on mutual respect for each other's independence and interests. While we heeded Russia's interests, we also made it clear that our independence and sovereignty were not negotiable. As such, we felt we could freely pursue the sovereign choice of the Georgian nation -- to seek deeper integration into European economic and security institutions.
We have worked hard to peacefully bring Abkhazia and South Ossetia back into the Georgian fold, on terms that would fully protect the rights and interests of the residents of these territories. For years, we have offered direct talks with the leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, so that we could discuss our plan to grant them the broadest possible autonomy within the internationally recognized borders of Georgia.
But Russia, which effectively controls the separatists, responded to our efforts with a policy of outright annexation. While we appealed to residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia with our vision of a common future, Moscow increasingly took control of the separatist regimes. The Kremlin even appointed Russian security officers to arm and administer the self-styled separatist governments.
Under any circumstances, Russia's meddling in our domestic affairs would have constituted a gross violation of international norms. But its actions were made more egregious by the fact that Russia, since the 1990s, has been entrusted with the responsibility of peacekeeping and mediating in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Rather than serve as honest broker, Russia became a direct party to the conflicts, and now an open aggressor.
As Europe expanded its security institutions to the Black Sea, my government appealed to the Western community of nations -- particularly European governments and institutions -- to play a leading role in resolving our separatist conflicts. The key to any resolution was to replace the outdated peacekeeping and negotiating structures created almost two decades ago, and dominated by Russia, with a genuine international effort.
But Europe kept its distance and, predictably, Russia escalated its provocations. Our friends in Europe counseled restraint, arguing that diplomacy would take its course. We followed their advice and took it one step further, by constantly proposing new ideas to resolve the conflicts. Just this past spring, we offered the separatist leaders sweeping autonomy, international guarantees and broad representation in our government.
Our offers of peace were rejected. Moscow sought war. In April, Russia began treating the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as Russian provinces. Again, our friends in the West asked us to show restraint, and we did. But under the guise of peacekeeping, Russia sent paratroopers and heavy artillery into Abkhazia. Repeated provocations were designed to bring Georgia to the brink of war.
When this failed, the Kremlin turned its attention to South Ossetia, ordering its proxies there to escalate attacks on Georgian positions. My government answered with a unilateral cease-fire; the separatists began attacking civilians and Russian tanks pierced the Georgian border. We had no choice but to protect our civilians and restore our constitutional order. Moscow then used this as pretext for a full-scale military invasion of Georgia.
Over the past days, Russia has waged an all-out attack on Georgia. Its tanks have been pouring into South Ossetia. Its jets have bombed not only Georgian military bases, but also civilian and economic infrastructure, including demolishing the port of Poti on the Black Sea coast. Its Black Sea fleet is now massing on our shores and an attack is under way in Abkhazia.
What is at stake in this war?
Most obviously, the future of my country is at stake. The people of Georgia have spoken with a loud and clear voice: They see their future in Europe. Georgia is an ancient European nation, tied to Europe by culture, civilization and values. In January, three in four Georgians voted in a referendum to support membership in NATO. These aims are not negotiable; now, we are paying the price for our democratic ambitions.
Second, Russia's future is at stake. Can a Russia that wages aggressive war on its neighbors be a partner for Europe? It is clear that Russia's current leadership is bent on restoring a neocolonial form of control over the entire space once governed by Moscow.
If Georgia falls, this will also mean the fall of the West in the entire former Soviet Union and beyond. Leaders in neighboring states -- whether in Ukraine, in other Caucasian states or in Central Asia -- will have to consider whether the price of freedom and independence is indeed too high.
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source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121841306186328421.html |
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| DrUg_Tit0 |
| quote: | Originally posted by St_Andrew
But it can be so much fun sometimes, remember the old good times with the ignorance of people like woahnellie :D |
Haha, yeah, she was a great one, perhaps even my favorite :) Not many fundies here nowadays unfortunately..or luckily :)
Anyway..seems that crazy scenario I mentioned just might actually be what's behind all this. McCain gets his odds improved, Putin gets Georgia subdued, oil goes up, and everybody's happy!
I only wonder if Mr. Saakasvili is indeed so stupid as to believe he could get away with this, or if he has an airplane filled with money ready to take him away to some nice tropical resort... |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
Haha, yeah, she was a great one, perhaps even my favorite :) Not many fundies here nowadays unfortunately..or luckily :)
Anyway..seems that crazy scenario I mentioned just might actually be what's behind all this. McCain gets his odds improved, Putin gets Georgia subdued, oil goes up, and everybody's happy!
I only wonder if Mr. Saakasvili is indeed so stupid as to believe he could get away with this, or if he has an airplane filled with money ready to take him away to some nice tropical resort... |
I believe Saakashvili has a huge stake in this. Or else, he would not be in Gori having to take cover from Russian attacks..
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| Magnetonium |
According to Russian sources, no ground forces are near Gori, and no plans are made for that either. BUT, Russian media claims that Georgia has resumed shelling of Tskhinvali and that Russia has shot down several Georgian aircraft, including SU-25 plane and 2 helicopters. Media provided video evidence of that. Also there are unconfirmed reports going around that mercenaries were involved in the conflict on the Georgian side, troops of "dark colour of skin", as Russian media said. :conf:
Russian state media says that the aircrafts it lost in the war zone were shot down by S-200 systems, which were supplied by Ukraine, among other equipment such as some tanks and Grad missile shelling systems (look a lot like Katyusha's, as shown in several media photos). You can imagine that the media has been running a story as a result to purport how much Ukrainian government helped Georgia arm up for the conflict.
Russian media reported also that a special task force has been set up to document Georgian war crimes against civilians. Also, many loads of Russian humanitarian aid have been sent to South Ossetia to the starving Ossetians who have been without electricity, running water and low on supplies since the conflict erupted. Putin has pledged half a billion bucks into South Ossetia. Dozens of buses carrying South Ossetian refugees have been flowing into North Ossetia from the conflict zone, some estimates up to 20,000 refugees.
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by Magnetonium
According to Russian sources, no ground forces are near Gori, and no plans are made for that either. BUT, Russian media claims that Georgia has resumed shelling of Tskhinvali and that Russia has shot down several Georgian aircraft, including SU-25 plane and 2 helicopters. Media provided video evidence of that. Also there are unconfirmed reports going around that mercenaries were involved in the conflict on the Georgian side, troops of "dark colour of skin", as Russian media said. :conf:
Russian state media says that the aircrafts it lost in the war zone were shot down by S-200 systems, which were supplied by Ukraine, among other equipment such as some tanks and Grad missile shelling systems (look a lot like Katyusha's, as shown in several media photos). You can imagine that the media has been running a story as a result to purport how much Ukrainian government helped Georgia arm up for the conflict.
Russian media reported also that a special task force has been set up to document Georgian war crimes against civilians. Also, many loads of Russian humanitarian aid have been sent to South Ossetia to the starving Ossetians who have been without electricity, running water and low on supplies since the conflict erupted. Putin has pledged half a billion bucks into South Ossetia. Dozens of buses carrying South Ossetian refugees have been flowing into North Ossetia from the conflict zone, some estimates up to 20,000 refugees.
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I don't trust Russia at all in any of this... |
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