The Russians deny an intent to push further into Georgia but observers tell a different story:
“They are on the central highway which links the east and west of Georgia. This is the situation. People are leaving their villages,” he told the Guardian.
“It’s a very bad situation. People are in panic. Nobody knows what to do. This road where the troops are is about 2kms from the city centre. It’s very near. The road is closed now.”
Russian troops also surged from the west from Abkhazia, Georgian officials said. They seized the towns of Kutaisy and Senaki and were also planning to advance on the Black Sea port of Poti.
“This is a classical full-scale invasion.” said Irakli Batkuashvili, the head of Georgia’s military planning division. “This is an occupation … half of Georgia is under Russian control. Our aim now is to to build up our troops and to create a defensive line in front of Tbilisi. We will fight defending Tbilisi.”
It was not clear tonight whether the Russian forces in the west and centre of Georgia intended to link up and advance on Tbilisi. News of the Russian advance sparked panic in the Georgian capital, with some foreign observers scrambling to pull out, refugees reportedly fleeing, and mobile phones jammed.
President Bush is due to make a statement at 5:15 EDT. The U.N. is also responding by doing what they do best – talking.
