The last time the Russian military machine was on public display in Europe , its performance did not impress. But this is no longer the force that NATO observed blundering its way through a brief but messy war with its tiny neighbor, Georgia, back in 2008. A new, leaner and meaner Russian Army has been on display in Crimea and war-gamin…
At least 3 Georgian commandos and 11 militants have been killed during an operation to free hostages held along Georgia's border with Russia, authorities said Wednesday.The police operation was launched Wednesday after militants from Russia's Dagestan region, which has been plagued by extremist Islamist insurgents, crossed into Georgia and took fi…
TBILISI, Georgia — A tank battalion mutinied Tuesday at a Georgian military base near the capital and the base has been sealed off, the defense minister said.The mutiny followed an announcement by the Interior Ministry that it had uncovered a Russia-supported plot to overthrow the government and had arrested the suspected organizer.Georgia’s President Mi…
TBILISI, Georgia – Russian troops retook a village near the breakaway region of South Ossetia Saturday just hours after withdrawing, Georgia’s Interior Ministry and European Union peace observers said.The move drew criticism from Georgia, the EU and U.S. Senator John Kerry, who was on a half-day visit to Tbilisi.Georgian police had already moved into Pere…
Since agreeing to a cease-fire deal with Georgia Aug. 15, Russia has been under close scrutiny. Is it pulling troops out or not? Is it protecting smoldering villages or pillaging them?Moscow has frequently said one thing while eyewitnesses have reported another during the conflict. Even after Friday’s withdrawal, US officials said Russia – which left troo…
A US Navy destroyer carrying relief supplies arrived at a port in Georgia Sunday in a sign of US support for its ally as Russian troops dug in further up the coast.Moscow faced renewed pressure to withdraw its forces from western Georgia, where they control access to the key Black Sea port of Poti. They also held positions around South Ossetia.In further…
Russian forces on Wednesday built a sentry post just 30 miles from the Georgian capital, appearing to dig in to positions deep inside Georgia despite pledges to pull back to areas mandated by a cease-fire signed by both countries.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says his troops will complete their pullback by Friday, but few signs of movement have been s…
GORI, Georgia – Under a statue of Josef Stalin, the best-known product of this city, a Russian and a Georgian were discussing the war. The Georgian was wearing a T-shirt and track pants. The Russian was in uniform, holding an AK-47.The Georgian, Archil Tadianidze, lives in Gori and was talking about militia fighters from the breakaway province of South Os…
TBILISI, Georgia – Russia opened a second front of fighting in Georgia on Monday, sending armored vehicles beyond two breakaway provinces and seizing a military base and police stations in the country’s west, officials said.The new forays into Georgia — even after Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili signed a cease-fire pledge — appeared to show Russian…
GORI, Georgia — Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia veered closer to all-out war on Saturday as Russia moved parts of its Black Sea fleet toward Georgia’s coast and intensified air attacks on Georgia, striking two apartment buildings in the city of Gori and clogging roads out of the area with fleeing refugees.Russia acknowledged that Georgian…