Russian Ground Forces Are Now Entering Into Georgia Proper -- Are They Going To Invade The Country?

Russian Ground Forces Assault Vital Georgian City -- New York Times

TBILISI, Georgia — Russian tanks and troops moved through the separatist enclave of South Ossetia and advanced on the city of Gori in central Georgia on Sunday night, for the first time directly assaulting a Georgian city with ground forces after three days of heavy fighting, Georgian officials said.

Georgian tanks were dug into positions outside Gori and planning to defend the city, said Shota Utiashvili, an official in Georgia’s interior ministry. He said the city of Gori was coming under artillery and tank fire. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

A senior Western diplomat said it was unclear whether Russia intended a full invasion of Georgia. “They seem to have gone beyond the logical stopping point” to retake the separatist regions, he said.

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My Comment: I find it interesting that the pundits are trying to gauge what the Russian Army is going to do in the Caucasus. I suggest that they read the Russian websites (some of them are in English) from Russia itself .... their track record has so far been excellent in reporting what the Russian Army was going to do in this war .... and they are very clear on what is going to happen now.

Russian forces are now being rushed into the Caucasus for an invasion and/or occupation of a good chunk of Georgia. The Army that is presently in the field are under orders to attack, degrade, and to destroy as much of the Georgian Army as possible. The Fronts in this war are in two provinces .... South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The important theater for operation is in South Ossetia. By taking Gorin, a town south of South Ossetia ... the birth place of Stalin .... the Russian Army will have effectively cut Georgia in two. They will also be in a position to strike against the capital city of Tbilisi.

Discussion and negotiation is not on the table, and for the Russians it is not an option. The goal is to punish Georgia as much as possible .... and they will. When they have felt that the core of the Georgian Government is now fearful of their survival ... maybe then some form of negotiations will proceed.

I expect the lights to be going out in Tbilisi very soon.

Update: The Georgian And U.S. Governments have come to the same conclusion:
Russia wants all of Georgia - leader -- Reuters
U.S. suggests Russia wants "regime change" in Georgia -- Reuters