Hi is anyone aware that war has broken out in Eastern Europe?

The Telegraph

By Adrian Blomfield in Gori
Last Updated: 7:55PM BST 08 Aug 2008

A roar filled the air. Suddenly, from the horizon, two Russian war jets homed into view, their wingtips tilted towards the scrubland of northern Georgia as they screamed through the skies.

"Take cover, it's another wave," the Georgian commander shouted.

His men, a company of soldiers deployed on a lonely stretch of road close to Tskhinvali, the rebel capital of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, flung themselves to the ground and rolled into the thick thorn bushes that stretched towards the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.

Anti-aircraft guns opened fire in staccato bursts before the ground started to rumble as the jets discharged their payloads. From both sides of the road, the soldiers began to fire their Kalashnikovs, a futile and desperate gesture against the might of the Russian Air Force.

"Russians!" yelled a young soldier, his grimy face streaked with sweat, as he jabbed a finger towards the retreating jets. "Russians," he told me again, more softly this time, as though scarcely able to believe that his tiny country was effectively at war with its giant ex-Soviet neighbour.

Gradually, the firing began to stop. Soldiers, chests heaving with exertion and adrenaline, rolled onto their backs and began to smoke.

Continue reading here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ll-the-air.html

From BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7550354.stm

Russian forces battle Georgians 

Footage reportedly shows Russian tanks entering South Ossetia

Russian forces are locked in fierce clashes with Georgia inside its breakaway South Ossetia region, reports say, amid fears of all-out war.

Moscow sent armoured units across the border after Georgia moved against Russian-backed separatists.

Russia says 12 of its soldiers are dead, and separatists estimate that 1,400 civilians have died.

Georgia accuses Russia of waging war, and says it has suffered heavy losses in bombing raids, which Russia denies.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili says he is willing to agree an immediate ceasefire
Russian tanks have reportedly reached the northern suburbs of the regional capital, Tskhinvali, and there were conflicting claims about who was in control of the city.

"Now our peacekeepers are waging a fierce battle with regular forces from the Georgian army in the southern region of Tskhinvali," a Russian military official was quoted as saying by Moscow-based news agency, Interfax.

After days of exchanging heavy fire with the separatists, Georgian forces moved on Thursday night to regain control of the region, which has had de facto independence since a war against Georgia that ended in 1992.

 
 I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars. It's impossible to count them now

Lyudmila Ostayeva
Tskhinvali resident

In pictures: Unrest in Georgia
Bitterness turns to conflict

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Russia was at war with his country.

He told the BBC: "Our troops are attacked by thousands of troops coming in from Russia."

Mr Saakashvili said Georgia had shot down several Russian planes and accused Moscow of bombing Georgian air bases and towns, resulting in the death of 30 military personnel and civilians.

Late on Friday, the Georgian national security council said Mr Saakashvili was poised to declare a state of emergency.

Despite denials from Moscow, the Russian air force has been carrying out air raids in South Ossetia and Georgia itself, says the BBC's Richard Galpin, in Gori, eastern Georgia. 

Suspected-Russian T-90 and BMP3 burning.

Unidentified Su-25 Frogfoot dropping flares after firing rockets on a ground attack run.

Georgian troops firing Katyusha rockets at South Ossetian seperatist troops.

Suspected Georgian Hinds flying over an unnamed location near Tskhinvali.

Pictures courtesy of BBC

so happening in our side of our world and

the hell break loss in their side of the world

A couple more pics courtesy of Getty Images

Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot in action

Unidentified Us-25 Frogfoot in action dropping munitions near Gori(Stalin's birth town) in Georgian territory (probably Russian)

Burnt out Georgian tanks

South Ossetian claims Georgian jet shot down:

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28690/video

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b89_1218230892

Georgian troops in a firefight with South Ossetian troops (6 injured):

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b26_1218094003

Georgia claims Russian warplanes downed:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0c7_1218202976

the russkies got pwned by irregular chechens, twice ....

would it be any different this time ? ... against an army that's been bloodied in Iraq ? ....

The Georgians are being pwned at the moment tbh. They're(the russians) now properly pissed off

Yes I am aware.

What is Russia trying to show?

Russia is gonna flex its muscle on Georgia. lol

It's not just the Russians who are involved. There are separatist South Ossetians and Don Cossacks fighting against Georgia as well.

wah...wats up with that man...must be some conflict between those two countries...

Originally posted by 4Justice:

The Georgians are being pwned at the moment tbh. They're now properly pissed off

well, that's good .... people'd need to get riled up nicely before they'll fight ....

if this is something that'll develop into a wider conflict, we'll have to see about that ...

Abkhazia is threatening to open up a 2nd front for Georgia as well.

Originally posted by Y_Shun:

Yes I am aware.

What is Russia trying to show?

The majority of South Ossetians have Russian passports, that's why Moscow is intervening. They want to join the northerners which are already part of Russia. Georgia is claiming that it's a disguised invasion though.

Originally posted by Fatum:

well, that's good .... people'd need to get riled up nicely before they'll fight ....

if this is something that'll develop into a wider conflict, we'll have to see about that ...

 

It is. this goes far deeper beyond the surface than most people realise

its west vs east, its the conventional war that has been threatening to happen for years during the cold war. except that now, the shit has hit the fan, ironically AFTER the end of the cold war.

Whatsmore, theres a major pipeline that supplies non-Russian oil to EU. EU is going to get stuck-in in this one properly

Fresh from Sky News!

Russia has announced it is sending in SPETSNAZ!

Also, the escalation is serious enough that Russia is now attacking undisputed Georgian territory including around the Georgian capital of T'bilisi.

It's been reported that Russia has attacked a base crucial to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC)oil pipeline that is supplying oil to EU. It is likely that the EU is now on the brink of being drawn in.

The current Standby roster for EU battlegroups lists the current standby EU battlegroups as a French-German force with its operational HQ based in Paris and a British force with its operational HQ based in London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_Battlegroups#Standby_roster"]EU

http://voanews.com/english/2008-08-09-voa2.cfm

For the second time in less than 24 hours, the U.N. Security Council has been unable to agree on a course of action to stop the escalating violence in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia. From United Nation's headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.


UN Security Council
In an open meeting, there was consensus among the 15-members that there should be a cessation of hostilities, but when it came to crafting a statement on the subject there was difficulty in finding agreement on the right words.

Belguim's Ambassador Jan Grauls, who is council president this month, told reporters that some members need more time. "This negotiation is an on-going process -- it has not come to a halt tonight. And will be resumed tomorrow in the course of the morning," he said.

Some diplomats also cited the fluid situation on the ground. During the meeting, Georgia's Ambassador Irakli Alasania told the council that he had just received word that Russian bombers were attacking more targets in Georgia and another breakaway republic, Abkhazia. "Right now, as we speak, Russian bombers are bombing the Poti port, which is the western port of Georgia. As well as Senaki airfield, which was bombed numerous times today. And of course -- it was quite anticipated from my side -- that we should have some kind of provocation in Abkhazia as well. We are seeing the bombing of Kodori region of Upper Abkhazi," he said.<!--QuoteEnd-->

with George w bush currently in the olympics, will he skip it?

surely he will intevene.Russia and US rivalrily is still on despite end of cold war

republicans willl sure to egg him go intevene

get the UN in

will we see super flankers in action against typhoons and rafales soon ? ....