War reveals Russia’s military might and weakness
MOSCOW – Russia’s lightning war against Georgia looks like a military triumph: An armada of Russian tanks easily crushed Georgia’s modest army in a show of muscle intended to punish its U.S.-allied neighbor, scare others and reaffirm Moscow’s influence on its former Soviet turf.
But the conflict also revealed crucial weaknesses in Moscow’s military preparedness — including faulty intelligence, a shortage of modern equipment and poor coordination.
The swift Russian victory presented a stark contrast to the war in Chechnya in the 1990s, where Russian troops were bogged down for years, suffering a string of humiliating losses at the hands of lightly armed rebels.
When Georgia launched an offensive Aug. 7 to regain control of the breakaway province of South Ossetia, Russia responded immediately, sending thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks through the mountain tunnel that cuts through Russia’s border with South Ossetia.
At the same time, dozens of Russian warplanes ranged over Georgia, attacking military bases, airports, communications and transport facilities.
During the two wars in Chechnya, Moscow faced widespread criticism for leveling the capital of Grozny with carpet bombings and airstrikes. This time, the military says Russian aircraft used smart weapons to make precision attacks on equipment and installations.
On Monday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev flew to Vladikavkaz, near the border with Georgia, and trumpeted the attack as he decorated 30 soldiers and servicemen.
“It has been only 10 days since you faced a cowardly aggression,” he said, standing on a drill square in front of camouflage-clad soldiers and officers he called “heroes.”
“I am sure that such a well-done, effective and peacemaking operation aimed at protecting our citizens and other people will be among the most glorious deeds of the Russian military,” Medvedev said.
But while Russian airstrikes for the most part seemed to pinpoint their targets in Georgia, AP reporters also witnessed heavy bomb damage to civilian areas in at least two places — the central city of Gori, where several residential structures were hit, and Ruisi, a village ravaged by Russian warplanes.
Human Rights Watch said at least 11 civilians were killed and dozens wounded by cluster bombs in Gori and Ruisi, and strongly urged Russia to stop using the weapons. The Russian military denied using cluster bombs, which disperse small “bomblets” over a wide area.
Moscow-based aviation analyst Konstantin Makiyenko said the civilian casualties appeared inadvertent. “Even the U.S. military, which has a greater number of smart weapons, sometimes accidentally hits civilians,” he said.
Ruslan Pukhov, head of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said the war showed that the Russian air force is still short of precision weapons and continues to rely on older types of bombs and rockets.
Some civilian casualties could probably have been avoided if Russia’s equivalent to the U.S. GPS satellite navigation system was fully working. But the GLONASS system doesn’t yet have the necessary number of satellites in orbit and, more importantly, portable navigation devices are still a rarity in the Russian military, according to officials.
Georgia said it downed at least 21 Russian warplanes, while Russia confirmed the loss of just four aircraft, including three Su-25 ground attack jets and a Tu-22 long-range bomber.
The conflicting claims couldn’t be resolved, but even the loss of four aircraft is a heavy toll given the small size of Georgia’s military.
Russia’s deputy chief of General Staff, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said the Georgians shot down the planes from hidden locations outside military facilities using Soviet-built Tor and Buk anti-aircraft missiles supplied by Ukraine. He said Russian pilots grew more cautious as the campaign continued.
While Russia would have to expect to lose some low-flying ground attack jets, former Russian air force chief Anatoly Kornukov said the loss of the heavy bomber — which the military said was on a reconnaissance mission — should have been avoided.
“They sent the Tu-22 crew to their deaths thinking that the Georgian air defense would mount no resistance,” Kornukov told Interfax news agency.
Moscow-based independent military analyst Alexander Golts said that sending the heavy bomber on a reconnaissance mission over Georgia was a mistake.
“Using the Tu-22 for a reconnaissance mission over Georgia was the same as using a microscope to drive nails,” he said.
Some Western experts believe that Russia spent months preparing for the invasion, and provoked the confrontation that led to Georgia’s attack on the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali. They pointed to military exercises the Russian military conducted just across the border in July, the lingering presence of extra Russian troops in the region in August and the speed and efficiency of Moscow’s response.
Russian military officials insist, however, that they were surprised by the attack and organized their response in a matter of hours.
Although the deployment was swift, it didn’t always run smoothly.
As hundreds of battered Russian armored vehicles wound through the mountain passes toward Tskhinvali, an AP reporter saw a number of tanks broken down in the road, blocking traffic; or being repaired, with soldiers working underneath them with wrenches; or even being towed by other vehicles.
Numerous armored vehicles also broke down en route to Chechnya 14 years ago.
After a hasty march to Tskhinvali, a Russian general in charge of the entire Russian military force in the region recklessly drove into the city in an advance convoy and was ambushed by Georgian forces. He suffered a leg wound.
Russia said 74 soldiers died and more than 170 were wounded in fighting, but Georgian officials claimed Russian losses were much higher.
Georgian officials said they lost 160 soldiers and that 300 are missing. Russia said the figure is much higher.
The physical damage inflicted by the air war on Georgia’s military and equipment is unclear. But there is no doubt of the political damage it caused.
The bombing campaign complicated Moscow’s efforts to persuade the world that the motive behind its intervention was the protection of South Ossetian civilians.
Media coverage in the West has tended to paint Georgia as the victim in the conflict. The Georgian assault on South Ossetia has often been overlooked in reports that focused on the Russian attack.
While foreign political reaction has been divided — with the U.S. offering the harshest condemnation of Russia — most countries have at least criticized Russia’s actions as disproportionate.
“The victorious Russia has found itself in complete isolation. That raises the question of whether it was a victory,” Golts said.
Russia may also have made ousting Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili a key goal in its brief war. If so, it failed. After the fighting stopped, a pro-government rally in the Georgian capital drew tens of thousands of people.
“Georgia’s military losses were higher than Russia’s, but financial, political and moral losses of Russia were much higher than those of Georgia,” Andrei Illarionov, former Kremlin adviser turned opposition activist, said in a commentary posted in the online Yezhednevny Zhurnal.
Tymoshenko keeps low profile on S Osseyia because of her deal with Russia, Taras Vozniak says
Premier Yulia Tymoshenko keeps a low profile on the situation in Southern Ossetia. Her silence can be explained by her deal with Russia, for instance, in exchange for Russian support for her in the future presidential election in Ukraine. The same can be said about Speaker Yatseniuk. The only person who is adamant in his support for Georgia is Pres Yushchenko, says political expert and editor of the independent “I” magazine Taras Vozniak, commenting to| ZIK on the escalation of the conflict in S Ossetia.
“I don’t think Ukraine will be directly involved in the conflict. Ukraine can participate only in a humanitarian and diplomatic sense. Russia has shown again that it wipes its feet on international laws and borders to resolve its problems. Russia is eager to keep fuel pipe lines under its control and derail Ukraine’s projects aimed at diversifying its supply sources, notably the Odesa-Brody project that can be extended to the Caucasus,” Vozniak opined.
Taras Vozniak is convinced that Russia will ignore the ban imposed by Ukraine for its Black Sea vessels involved in naval operations near Georgia to return to Sevastopol. “The weakness of the Ukrainian regime will reveal itself to the full. It will be accompanies by a divide in the executive,” he added.
“Had Georgia been a NATO member or a candidate for membership, Russia would not have dared to behave that brazenly. In such a way, Russia is blocking Georgia’s and Ukraine’s entry in NATO,” he believes, adding that Ukraine’s swift accession to the alliance is the only salvation for Ukraine not to see Russian tanks in Sevastopol and Lviv.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Mikhail Saakashvili, APA
Polish leader slams French peace plan for Georgia
Poland`s President Lech Kaczynski Wednesday criticised a plan by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to end Russia`s conflict with Georgia, saying it failed to protect Georgia`s territory.
“We`ve heard talk about the conditions for suspending operations, and there`s not one word about Georgia`s territorial integrity,” Kaczynski told reporters in the Georgian capital.
“It must be included. It`s a violation of the rules that have been the basis for peace in Europe for decades. We can`t violate those rules,” he said.The six-point peace plan negotiated with Russia by Sarkozy, whose country is at the helm of the 27-nation EU, does not mention the need to respect Georgia`s frontiers, which have been a source of conflict ever since the country broke from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991.
“This is a region where it`s obvious what plans set down on paper, imposed from far away, are actually worth. They`re worth nothing,” Kaczynski said.Kaczynski and the leaders of four other ex-communist states — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine — had headed to Tbilisi on Tuesday in a show of support for the country`s pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Poland and the Baltic states, which like Georgia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union until 1991, are all staunch allies of Tbilisi.Their countries are all solidly anchored in the West — Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004, while the Baltic states became members of both in 2004, and back Georgia and Ukraine`s efforts to do likewise.
They have been pressing other Western nations to get tough with Russia over Georgia.Fighting between Georgia and Russia broke out last week after the Georgian army launched an offensive to bring South Ossetia, which broke away in the early 1990s, back under government control.
Russian troops have since driven Georgia forces out of South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia, which like South Ossetia is run by pro-Russian separatists.
Russian forces also occupy Georgian territory around these areas, and have bombed military targets across the country, according to Georgian officials.
Russia on Tuesday said it was halting its offensive, although a column of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) on Wednesday left the Georgian town of Gori and was seen headed in the direction of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Also on Wedenesday, Saakashvili accused Russian tank personnel in Gori of destroying buildings and shooting at people.
“They have destroyed buildings, there has been looting by Russian troops. They were shooting people,” he added in a conference call with reporters.
Kaczynski said EU governments meeting in Brussels on Wednesday should not let Moscow off the hook.
“The Council of Ministers of the EU should adopt a much firmer position. I`m calling on them to do so,” he said.
He also pressed on Washington, another staunch ally of Georgia, to guarantee its security.
“The Georgian nation and other neighbours also have the right to security. If our ally wants to continue to play a role as a great world leader, this is the place to show it. I`m calling on President Bush and his team to do it,” he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Mikhail Saakashvili, APA
Tymoshenko: Government will stand up for the Black Sea shelf
Tymoshenko: Government will stand up for the Black Sea shelf
The Government will not allow taking away gas resources of Ukraine in the Black Sea shelf. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko said at a press conference.
The Prime Minister stressed that nobody can change the Government’s stand that the Black Sea shelf with strategic gas resources would belong to the Ukrainian people. “We’ll allow nobody to take away on corrupt, shadow basis the strategic resources of natural gas of Ukraine in the Black Sea shelf,” Yulia Tymoshenko noted.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Mikhail Saakashvili, APA
How Georgia fell into its enemies’ trap
When is a victory not a victory? When it dents your country`s image, scares your allies and gets you into an unwinnable war with a hugely stronger opponent.
That is the bleak outlook for Georgia this weekend, after what initially looked like a quick military win against the separatist regime in South Ossetia. Georgia`s attack followed weeks of escalating provocations, including hours of heavy shelling by the Russian-backed breakaway province and signs of large-scale Russian reinforcement.
Thanks to American military aid, Georgia`s 18,000-strong armed forces are the best-trained and equipped fighting force in the Caucasus. But it is one thing for them to defeat the raggle-taggle militia of a tinpot place like South Ossetia (population 70,000). It is another for a country of less than five million people to take on Russia (population 142 million). Now the Kremlin is reacting strongly. Russian warplanes are reportedly striking targets in Georgia. Reinforcements are pouring in. And the Kremlin`s mighty propaganda machine is lumbering into action while a cyber-attack appears to have crippled Georgia`s websites.
For it is the information war, not what happens on the ground, that will determine the victor of this conflict. Russia is portraying Georgia as the aggressor, an intransigent and unpredictable country determined to restore its supremacy over an unwilling province by means of military force and “ethnic cleansing”. Such a country, clearly, would be unfit to receive Western support.
That seems to be working. European leaders have long been dubious about Mikhail Saakashvili, a charismatic US-educated lawyer who stormed to power in the Rose Revolution of 2005. Where the fans of the Georgian President see charm and brains, his critics – such as the German Chancellor Angela Merkel – see a dangerously headstrong and erratic leader. A crackdown on the Opposition in November, bullying of the media and instances of abuse of power among senior officials have allowed detractors to draw uncomfortable parallels between Georgia and Vladimir Putin`s Russia.
These are misplaced: Georgia is not perfect, but it is not a dictatorship. Its leadership does not peddle a phoney ideology, such as the Kremlin`s mishmash of Soviet nostalgia and tsarist-era chauvinism. It has a thriving civil society, vocal opposition and ardently wants to be in the EU and Nato. Moral grounds alone would be enough reason for supporting it against Russian aggression.
But on top of that is a vital Western interest. The biggest threat Russia poses to Europe is the Kremlin`s monopoly on energy export routes to the West from the former Soviet Union. The one breach in that is the oil and gas pipeline that leads from energy-rich Azerbaijan to Turkey, across Georgia. If Georgia falls, Europe`s hopes of energy independence from Russia fall too.
Yet the West is both divided and distracted. America will be furious if reports turn out to be true that Russian warplanes bombed an airfield where Pentagon military advisers are based. But a lame-duck president is not going to risk World War Three for Georgia. In Europe, Georgia`s allies are mostly small ex-communist states such as Lithuania; heavily outnumbered by those such as Germany that prize their relations with Russia, seemingly, above all else. It seems Russia is ready to hit back hard, in the hope of squashing the West`s pestilential protégé.
In short, it looks more and more as though Georgia has fallen in to its enemies` trap. The script went like this: first mount unbearable provocations, then wait for a response, and finally reply with overwhelming military force and diplomatic humiliation. The idea that Georgia sought this war is nonsense. Recovering control of South Ossetia from its Russian-backed rulers has been a top priority for the Georgian authorities for years. But nobody thought it would come by military means. The Georgian strategy had been to use soft power, underlining its prosperity and the corruption-
busting successes of Mr Saakashvili`s rule. That contrasted sharply with the isolation and cronyism of South Ossetia, which survives only on smuggling and Russian subsidies.
Now that strategy is in ruins. As things stand, Georgia will be fighting not to regain South Ossetia or even to deter aggression, but to survive. It is hard to see any good outcome. Georgia has failed to win a quick victory: crucially, it failed to block the Roki tunnel under the Caucasus mountains, normally used as a smugglers` highway, but now the route for Russian heavy weapons that Georgia cannot counter for long. Worse, the authorities in Abkhazia, Georgia`s other breakaway region, may mount an attack, either on its own or with Russian help.
The fighting should be a deafening wake-up call to the West. Our fatal mistake was made at the Nato summit in Bucharest in April, when Georgia`s attempt to get a clear path to membership of the alliance was rebuffed. Mr Saakashvili warned us then that Russia would take advantage of any display of Western weakness or indecision. And it has.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Mikhail Saakashvili, APA
Edward Lucas is the author of The New Cold War (Bloomsbury)
New ships for the Russian Navy
28.07.2008
Russia started the development of a series of new ships for its Navy. According to Head Commander of the Russian Navy, Vladimir Vysotskii, Russia is currently in the process of building new strategic nuclear-engine cruisers, multipurpose submarines, frigates and corvettes, while the development of a series of other vessels, among them new aircraft carriers, has started.
In an interview with Praim-Tass the Navy admiral said that Russia intends to hold five or six aircraft carriers, which are to operate from its Northern and Pacific Fleets. – The Navy considers it absolutely necessary in the have 5-6 aircraft carriers in combat condition, Mr. Vysotskii said.
Currently, Russia only has one aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov in operation.
Source: www.barentsobserver.com
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Mikhail Saakashvili, APA
Putin’s next target will be Ukraine – Richard Holbrooke
Former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke said Russia acted feeling hatred for Mikhail Saakashvili and wanted to overthrow the government, APA reports. Richard Holbrooke said in his interview to CNN that Russia trying to separate Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia incited Georgia to the military conflict.
“No one needs cold war with Russia. But this country has intruded into the territory of a sovereign state. I was surprised at Bush’s embracing Putin in the opening of the Olympic Games. After that Putin was sitting while Bush and first lady were applauding the American team,” he said.
Richard Holbrooke called Mikhail Saakashvili the most democratic and pro-western leader in the region.
Asked whether the war could impact on the whole region, former diplomat said he did not believe it and that Ukraine would join the conflict.
“Putin’s next target will be Ukraine. But he can not do it there. Georgia has 5 million population and Ukraine 50 million. There are other factors, too,” he said.
Richard Holbrooke is expected to be Secretary of State in case Barack Obama is elected president.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Mikhail Saakashvili, APA
Russian expert warns against nuclear bombers in Cuba -2
(Adds Russia’s Defense Ministry’s comments in paras 10-11)
MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – The deployment of Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers in Cuba to counter U.S. missile defense plans in Europe would be a destructive move, a Russian military expert said Thursday.
Russian daily Izvestia on Monday cited a senior Russian military source as saying that Russian strategic bombers could be stationed again in Cuba, just 145 km (90 miles) from the U.S. coast, as a response to the U.S. missile shield in Europe.
“I believe that stationing Russian bombers in Cuba would be a destructive step because the advantage of these bombers is that they may launch missiles from outside the effective range of an enemy’s air defenses,” said Col. Gen. Viktor Yesin, former chief of staff of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, now vice president of the Academy of Security, Defense and Law Enforcement Studies.
Both Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers have been recently modernized and fitted with new X-555 cruise missiles with a range of over 3,500 km (2,200 miles). (Image gallery)
There is no need to deploy bombers 145 km from the U.S., where they would be easy targets for U.S. air defenses, if they are capable of hitting targets on U.S. soil from a distance of more than 3,500 km, the general said.
The reports about the possible return of Russian bombers to Cuba prompted an angry response from the Pentagon on Tuesday.
Commenting on the Izvestia article, U.S. General Norton Schwartz, nominated to be the air force’s chief of staff, said in Washington that this move would be “something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America.”
In response, the Russian military officials said the bombers would not threaten the U.S. and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said Havana owed no apologies to Washington over reports that Russia might station strategic bombers to Cuba.
“We need not offer any explanations or excuses nor ask forgiveness,” he wrote in a letter posted on cubadebate.cu web site.
The Russian Defense Ministry said later on Thursday that reports regarding the nuclear-capable strategic bombers had been concocted by Russia’s adversaries.
“We regard such reports from anonymous sources as misleading information and something of a ‘red herring,’” Ilshat Baichurin, an acting Defense Ministry spokesman, said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC, Reuters
NATO “mistake” encouraged Russia attack -Georgia
Georgia`s envoy to NATO said on Tuesday the Atlantic alliance had made a mistake by not giving his country a roadmap for membership at a summit this year, and Russia had taken that as “a green light” to attack, according to Reuters.
“It is our clear position and this position is strengthened after the Russian violations, that it was a big mistake made by allies that Georgia and Ukraine did not get the Membership Action Plan in Bucharest,” ambassador Revaz Beshidze said.
“We think Russia got this message as a green light, and, mostly, the recent steps we have in the territory of Georgia come from this mistake,” Beshidze told a news conference after meeting ambassadors of the 27-nation military alliance.
NATO pledged at the Bucharest summit that Georgia will one day become a member of the alliance.
But it stopped short of offering the two aspirants a formal plan to prepare for accession because several west European allies, led by Germany, had misgivings about expanding the U.S-led military alliance to Russia`s southern border.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC, Reuters
Group: Russians drop cluster bombs in Georgia
(CNN) — An international rights group said Friday it has evidence that Russian aircraft dropped cluster bombs in populated areas of Georgia, killing and injuring dozens of civilians during the territorial conflict that has gripped the region.
Laskha Beruashvili, 9, kisses his stuffed bear at a Red Cross facility in the Georgian village of Tzheta.
Human Rights Watch said the bombs — banned by 100 nations because of their record of maiming civilians, even after conflict has long finished — were dropped over areas of Georgia, including the strategic town of Gori, killing 11.
“Cluster bombs are indiscriminate killers that most nations have agreed to outlaw,” HRW senior military analyst Marc Garlasco said in a statement.
Dropped from the air of fired from the ground, the bombs break apart in flight to scatter hundreds of smaller bomblets for maximum impact.
“Russia’s use of this weapon is not only deadly to civilians but also an insult to international efforts to avoid a global humanitarian disaster of the kind caused by landmines,” Garlasco added.
Russia has repeatedly rejected accusations that it has targeted civilians in the conflict over Georgian breakaway provinces which it says it occupied to protect Russian citizens under attack from Georgian forces.
In an earlier report HRW said forces for both Georgia and Russia appear to have caused civilian casualties through indiscriminate attacks in the towns of Gori and and Tskhinvali, the capital of breakaway province South Ossetia.
“Russian, Georgian and South Ossetian forces all have an obligation under international humanitarian law to protect civilians from attack,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at the non-governmental organization.
“The latest information on civilian casualties in Gori, Tskhinvali and surrounding areas calls into question whether the forces are respecting that obligation.”
An attack Tuesday morning on Gori’s main square killed and wounded dozens of civilians, the organization said.
The attack took place in front of the Municipality Administration building, where several dozen civilians had gathered to collect food distributed by local officials, it said.
“Victims of the attack described to Human Rights Watch how they saw numerous small explosions within seconds before they fell to the ground,” the group said. 
Watch international efforts to bring peace to the region »
At least eight people were killed, including a Dutch journalist, it said, citing victims’ accounts as its source. The wounded were taken to the Gori hospital, then to Tbilisi in the Georgian capital, the organization said.
That day, 23 civilians from Gori — many of them hurt in the attack — were treated at the Gudushauri National Medical Center of Tbilisi, it said.
Don’t Miss
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed on Wednesday that Russian forces were in the area, it said.
The organization said Gori was bombarded from August 9 through 12 by what must have been Russian airplanes. 
Learn more about the conflict in the region »
It was unclear whether a military target was in the area, since the Georgian military reportedly had withdrawn from Gori the previous night, it said.
Tskhinvali, the capital city of South Ossetia, was largely deserted when Human Rights Watch investigators entered it on Wednesday night, it said. There, they saw “numerous apartment buildings and houses damaged by shelling.”
“Some of them had been hit by rockets most likely fired from Grad launchers, weapons that should not be used in areas populated by civilians, as they cannot be directed at only military targets and are therefore inherently indiscriminate.”
Several buildings appeared to have been struck by heavy ammunition fired from tanks at close range, it said.
Though Georgian and Russian forces use identical weaponry, Human Rights Watch said witnesses ascribed much of the damage to Georgian fire.
A doctor at Tskhinvali Regional Hospital told Human Rights Watch that the hospital treated 273 wounded, both military and civilians between August 6 and August 12. In addition, 44 bodies — civilian and military — were taken to the hospital during the fighting, she said, according to the Human Rights Watch report.
On Wednesday, Russian forces appeared to be attempting to prevent looting in Georgian villages, the group said. But that evening, while traveling from Tskhinvali to Java, the group’s researchers reported seeing houses on fire in several Georgian villages.
“They had clearly just been torched,” the group said.
A counterintelligence officer of the South Ossetian forces told the group, “We burned these houses. We want to make sure that they (the Georgians) can’t come back, because if they do come back, this will be a Georgian enclave again and this should not happen.”
The officer said that, on Monday, Georgians killed two of his soldiers in the village of Tamarasheni.
“We detained three of them,” he said, according to the organization. “Two of them didn’t do anything to us so we just let them go — we couldn’t take them anywhere as I had to take care of my own men first. The third one seemed to be high on something — a normal person would have surrendered, and this one was shooting at us instead. We questioned him and then executed him.”
Another NGO, World Vision, said the humanitarian needs of the estimated 100,000 people who have fled the conflict were increasing. 
View a map of the region »
“People are continuing to arrive in North Ossetia by the busload, and many civilians are wounded,” said Siobhan Kimmerle, World Vision’s national director in the Russian Federation. “World Vision has also found that many families have been separated from their loved ones in the chaos.” Watch aid arrive for victims of the conflict »
Citing Russian officials, it said more than 30,000 people have crossed into Russia from Georgia.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Georgia, TBILISI, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Ossetia, European, War in Georgia, Republic of Georgia, CNN, BBC
