Georgia invades, Russia invades, Rebel govt. website still online

-----------UPDATE 2:54AM----------
Georgian President just completed an interview with BBC: wants immediate ceasefire. He speaks very good English and has promoted Georgia as European since the "rose revolution" a few years ago. He gave his interview with the European Union flag behind him as well. He seemed comfortable. Tibilisi wasn't under attack. He had taken calls from Condi RIce and Sarkozy.

He said that at 11 AM (PM?) Russian forces entered South Ossetia and that was the final straw. He said the shelling of Georgian villages had been happening from the Ossetian side for days.

Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, has said he has seen the Georgian President on TV and says that it was the Georgians shelling villages - he said that the EU flag behind him said it all. Both sides are claiming the other side is targeting civillians. But the Georgian President said he was passing by a town just after it was shelled and so has first hand experience. He said no-one else would put up with this sort of thing. And he's right. Russia has bullied their way into this fight.

At this stage it doesn't look likely it will escalate beyond Ossetia. But this is day zero.
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South Ossetian official news service reporting they are under attack, but the city has not fallen:

8.08.2008 - 13:54
Tskhinval is under the most frightful fire

The massive, intensive shelling of Tskhinval continues. The city is under the worst shelling. The peaceful population of the capital Tskhinval-RSO is in the shelters in their houses, some of them have no longer this opportunity, because their houses destroyed. There are still a lot of children, women and the elderly in the city at the moment. According to available information at this time, despite ongoing hostilities, the city is not taken by Georgian troops, and continues to resist. Georgian armed formations have pursued a course on the total destruction of Ossetian people. They do everything possible to erase from the face of the earth the Ossetian Human Settlements.
The people of South Ossetia, hoping again to Russia, request assistance in the face of fascism and destruction of Georgia. Guiltless citizens of South Ossetia, Russia citizens are dying in their houses. And the exact number of deaths can not be established.

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Just a few hours earlier they were appealing directly to the Russians to help them out:

8.08.2008 - 11:52
Georgian SU-25 planes dropped bombs on civilians.

In these minutes Georgian SU-25 planes dropped bombs on the peaceful citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia. SU-25 also strikes at ossetian village Kvernet, and bypass road,Zar, the only road, which links South Ossetia with the North. Perfidious massive bombardment of Tskhinval by the morning became more intense. In the city and its environs are fighting with heavy weapons.
The people of South Ossetia requests assistance from the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and the Government of Russian Federation to take urgent measures to protect the residents of South Ossetia, which are citizens of the Russian Federation and to do everything to stop the genocide of the Ossetian people.
According to preliminary data, in the city killed more than 15 civilians.
The Georgian convoy of tanks and infantry is moving towards Tshinval. Already devastated a large part of the town. Several buildings in the center of the city burn. Parliament House RYUO burned, the government buildings complex is
damaged. High-rise housing and other residential buildings are burning.

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For the last two hours media have been reporting footage from Russian TV showing tanks crossing the frontier on their way to confront the Georgians.

This conflict had been signalled for some months now. Tensions and accusations have been intensifying. The Olympic opening ceremony is still going. What timing.

I made the comment when Kosovo declared independence and the West rushed to recognise it - that the logic would be for Russia to encourage the Georgian break-away republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to declared independence and then Russia can recognise them - that would be fair and equal. Give the West a taste of its own medicine.

At this point in what may become a war it is hard to make a call how this one will pan out. Russia runs boith these republics inside Georgia - most of the "rebel" government budgets come from Russia, Russian military presence is in the form of "peace keepers" officially, but the relationship is deeper than that. I've heard figures on the TV coverage that 90% of Ossetians have taken Russian citizenship.