Good map of the Caucasus
I found this one on the (excellent) blog http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/ As always, click on the map for a high-res detailed view:
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34’000 South Ossetian refugees registered in Russia, 2’000 killed
According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations 34’000 South Ossetian refugees have been registered in Russia. Over 2’000 fatalities have been reported. 22’000 refugees are still currently in Russia.
Details about the Ossetian war from the “Aviapedia” blog
The Georgian army structure (in Russian, but don’t think it will harm): T-72-SIM-1 — 210 (T-72-SIM-1 является модернизированной версией танков Т-72 различных модификаций, состоявших на вооружение Грузинских вооружених сил. Модернизация включает в себя: замену средств связи, установки датчика “свой-чужой”, навигационной системы основанной на использование GPS, установки двух (для механика водителя и наводчика) тепловизоров, установка комплекса для применения управляемого вооружения а также установки новой брони.)Т-55АМ − 35 (по планам Мин. Обороны
South Ossetia war update
17:05 – Abkhazian official have announced that the republic’s troops have entered the Gail district bordering Georgia. 15:45 GMT – 76 Airborne Brigade of the Russian Army arrives in the conflict region – Russian military officials. 15:20 GMT – Prime Minister Putin arrives in Russia’s republic of North Ossetia to discuss aid for the refugees arriving from South Ossetia. 14:19 GMT – Russia’s Interfax news agency quotes locals in Georgia
Two U.S. Aircraft Carriers Head For The Gulf; Kuwait Prepares “Emergency War Plan”
Dave Kaiser AHN Two additional U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are on their way to the Gulf and the Red Sea, according to Kuwait Times. Kuwait began finalizing its “emergency war plan” on being told the vessels were bound for the region. The U.S. Navy will neither confirm nor deny that carriers are currently en route. U.S. Fifth Fleet Combined Maritime Command located in Bahrain said it could not comment because
Interesting Reuters report
Reuters reports: Fighting gripped Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia for a third day on Saturday, but it remained unclear just who was in control of the rebel capital Tskhinvali. Russia announced it had seized control of the city, but Georgia denied that, saying Tskhinvali was in its hands. Separatist officials, who are supported by Russia, appeared to contradict each other. Eduard Kokoity, self-styled president of the separatist region, said
Confirmed: Georgian tank succeed re-entering Tskhinvali – Russia deploys Airborne troops
Russian sources have now confirmed that a group of Georgian tanks has successfully penetrated the South Ossetian defense lines and have re-entered the southern section of Tskhinvali. This marks a major success for the Georgian forces. Russian sources also announced that elements of the 76th Airborne Division have been dispatched from Pskov to South Ossetia.
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS – stay tuned
Dear friends, As per Murphy’s law my Internet connection is mostly down. Brighthouse will send a tech on Monday. I will try to post here in the short moments when it is back up but I cannot promise to maintain coverage of the war in Ossetia for the next three days. Ditto for answering emails. I apologize for this. Kind regards, The Saker
Details about how the US prepared the Georgian military for this war
Georgian army may be tough nut for Russia to crack By Stefan Korshak for Deutsche Presse-Agentur via Monsters and Critics The war in the Caucasian province Ossetia may seem like an uneven contest between giant Russia and tiny Georgia – but on the battlefront things are a bit different. Georgia’s President President Mikheil Saakashvili, coming to office in the 2003 pro-democracy Rose Revolution, has with some help from the United
Georgian and Russian tank battle in Tskhinvali
According to several sources Georgian tanks have re-entered the city of Tskhinvali and are now being engaged by Russian armored forces from the 58th Army contingent in South Ossetia.
Georgian TV shows downed Russian pilots
Georgian TV has just shown footage of one dead Russian pilot and one wounded one. Georgian journalists were allowed inside the hospital where there Russian POW was treated and asked him what his mission had been. The Russian could barely speak, but he repeated twice “reconnaissance”. Some Georgian sources claim that not two, but five Russian aircraft were shot down. It could well be that the pilot was saying the
Overnight developments according to the TV channel Russia Today
The Georgian war – minute by minute 13:16 GMT – Russia considers bringing the killing of peacekeepers to the international court – Foreign Ministry. 13:03 GMT – Tbilisi may ask the West for military aid – head of Georgia’s national security council. 12:53 GMT – Bush assures Medvedev he will help return the situation in South Ossetia to the sphere of diplomacy. 12:53 GMT – Georgian troops block 2,000 refugees
Georgians shut down all Russian information sources; VOA doubles broadcasts
Georgian authorities have shut down the broadcast of Russian TV stations. They have also blocked the access to any website with the domain name ending in .ru Not coincidentally, the US government propaganda radio Voice of America has doubled its broadcasts in Georgian.
FYI – Maps of Georgia and South Ossetia
Click on the maps for detailed view
War in South Ossetia – summary of developments
Here are some of the developments which I have learned so far: 1) Russia did admit that two of its military aircraft had been lost yesterday. This is rather baffling since the Georgian air defense capabilities are, according to Wikipedia, officially rather minimal: * 15 SA-11 * 38 SA-3 * 18 SA-8 * 35 ZSU-23-4 * 15 S-60 * 40 MT-LB with towed ZU-23-2 2) Abkhazian authorities have declared that
Russian Air Force strikes military bases and airfields across Georgia (UPDATED)
Russian and Georgian sources are reporting Russian Air Force strikes on Georgian military facilities throughout Georgia. The port of Poti has also reportedly been bombed. Several Georgian aircraft were destroyed on the Marneuli air base near the Georgian capital Tbilissi. The Vaziani military base (25 km from the capital) was also bombed. The airport of Bolnisi is reported “destroyed” by Georgian sources. In the meantime, Russian sources are reporting that
NATO encouraged Georgia – Russian envoy
Russia Today reports: NATO encouraged Georgia Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, has sent an official note to representatives of all member countries in Brussels in connection with Georgia’s military actions against South Ossetia. He’s calling on them not to support Mikhail Saakashvili. “Russia has already begun consultations with the ambassadors of the NATO countries and consultations with NATO military representatives will be held tomorrow,” Rogozin said. “We will caution
Condi Rice and Sergei Lavrov had THREE phone calls today
According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Condi Rice had three telephone conversations just today. Its pretty clear who the real parties to the conflict are, isn’t it?
South Ossetians retake capital
This just in from Interfax (via Press TV): South Ossetian separatists say they are in complete control of the capital Tskhinvali more than 24 hours into a major Georgian military offensive. The statement was made by South Ossetian spokeswoman, Irina Gagloyeva on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported. “The entire city of Tskhinvali is currently controlled by units of South Ossetia’s defense forces… The Georgian side is trying to regain
Appeal to the world of the South Ossetian Government
Appeal to the Governments and peoples of the world! Please, help us stop genocide of the small people of the South Ossetia! The small country, which has been constantly destroying for 19 years by Georgian fascists.And the world community conceal all the atrocities of Georgia for the sake of geopolitical interest of the USA. Conflict resolution is completely in international law. However, the Georgian side skillfully uses methods of historical
