Reply to New-Georgia Agency Questions

Reply of the Press and Information Department to the News-Georgia Agency concerning a statement of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation, Colonel General A. Nagovitsin

Question: How would you assess a statement of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation, Colonel General A. Nagovitsin that Russia is not in a state of war with Georgia and the Russian armed forces have not carried out any air raid on Tbilisi.

Answer: This statement made by one of the high-ranking Russian military officials is a logical follow-up to Russia’s treacherous propaganda campaign.

The Russian Authorities try in the most untalented way to portray the large-scale military actions carried out against Georgia as a very limited military operation aimed at providing assistance to Russian peacekeepers in the Tskhinvali region.

The truth however is that starting from the moment the extensive military aggression was unleashed against Georgia, Russian air forces have bombed several times the cities of Gori, Poti, Senaki, Marneuli, Bolnisi, Kutaisi and the territories adjacent to them causing a heavy casualty toll among the peaceful population.

Moreover, despite the Russian side’s claims to the contrary, Tbilisi also came under fire. Namely, on 8 August 2008, air raid was carried out on the Vaziani military base.

The Russian military forces still continue to bomb military as well as civilian facilities in Georgia’s various regions and cities.

9 August 2008
Press and Information Department