Russian taking heights over Georgia capitol?

Telegraph:

Just hours before Russia escalated the crisis by recognising the independence of two separatist Georgian provinces, Mr Saakashvili said Russian forces had advanced to the strategic Akhalgori heights 10 miles from Tbilisi.

He warned that Georgia would respond with force if its capital was attacked and told the West to act more forcefully against Russian aggression.

"They are trying to take the heights of Akhalgori," he told reporters at a briefing this morning. "This is the most worrying thing at the moment. They would be within 20km of Tbilisi.

"We are in a very precarious situation."

The president said that the West now had to act meaningfully to stop Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, from heightening the crisis still further.

"Some people in the West have been in denial for a long time," he said. "Now there can be no more denial.

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The West is nonetheless likely to be extremely concerned if Russia has used the cover of a truce brokered by the European Union to advance unchallenged to within shelling distance of Tbilisi.

It was not possible to verify whether a Russian military buildup around Akhalgori was underway.

The town, which technically lies within the boundaries of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, but has been under Georgian government control since 1992, fell to the advancing Russians earlier this month.

Bearded South Ossetian militiamen, sporting rocket launchers and fake designer sunglasses, manned a makeshift checkpoint outside Akhalgori this morning and refused to allow The Daily Telegraph into the town.

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There is much more.

It would be a very serious event if Russian artillery threatened the Georgia capitol. Russia also needs to get better control of the South Ossetian militia. They have been out of control and the Russians have just been watching them maraud the area. Russia has said it is pulling back. Setting up artillery that threatens the capitol is the opposite of that.