Georgia's National Security Council secretary reported that Russian forces occupied the city of Gori on Monday and Georgian forces are fortifying positions near Tbilisi to defend the capital.
Earlier on Monday, Russian troops advanced 25 miles from separatist Abkhazia to the town of Senaki inside Georgia proper, a spokesman at the Georgian Interior Ministry said. "They have advanced in dozens of armored personnel carriers and are now in Senaki," he said.
But Russia's Defense Ministry denied the claim. "There are no Russian troops in Gori," a ministry spokesman said.
| "It's... ummm... somebody else." |
Later, Russian forces moved into the town of Zugdidi outside the breakaway province of Abkhazia and seized police stations there.
The Georgian president has already signed a ceasefire pledge proposed by envoys from the European Union. President Mikhail Saakashvili said he signed the document together with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb. Saakashvili says the EU mediators will head to Moscow later Monday to try to persuade Russia to accept the ceasefire.
Mikhail Saakashvili accused Moscow of trying to overthrow his government as Russian troops pushed into two separatist regions of Georgia.
| That's the usual Soviet routine, isn't it? |
Despite the ceasefire offer, swarms of Russian jets launched new raids on Georgian territory Monday and Georgia faced the threat of a second front of fighting as Russia demanded that Georgia disarm troops near the breakaway province of Abkhazia. |