Hours after a European Union ceasefire between Georgia and Russia appeared to be taking shape, Russian tanks rolled into the Georgian city of Gori on Wednesday, later pressing deeper as they headed towards the capital Tbilisi.
To the west, Abkhazian separatist forces backed by Russian forces pushed out Georgian troops and even moved into Georgian territory itself, defiantly planting a flag and laughing that retreating Georgians had received American training in running away.
The developments came less than 12 hours after Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvilli said he accepted in principle a cease-fire plan brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy who arrived in the region and met with both Georgian and Russian leaders in an effort to restore calm.
On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared that Russia would halt all of its military activities in Georgia.
About 50 Russian tanks entered Gori on Wednesday morning, according to a top Georgian official, Alexander Lomaia. The city of 50,000 sits on Georgia's only significant east-west road near the South Ossetia border, a region where fierce fighting has taken place.
Russia's deputy chief of General Staff Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn insisted Wednesday that no tanks were in Gori, adding that Russians went into the city to try to implement the truce with local Georgian officials but could not find any.
The European Union peace plan's concept of having both sides retreat to their original positions was running into the stark reality of Russian dominance on the battlefield. 08/13/08
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