IN A dramatic show of force, Russian troops yesterday advanced some 15km farther into Georgian territory, provoking a new flood of refugees and leaving the world guessing as to Moscow's motives.
It was not clear whether the advance by what appeared to be a logistics unit was intended to establish a base for a full-scale Russian invasion of Georgia, or whether it was designed to terrify the local population, with the goal of establishing a buffer zone between Georgia and the breakaway pro-Russian enclave of South Ossetia.
The move may have been Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin's way of thumbing his nose at Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who hosted the presidents of France, Ukraine and the Baltic states on Tuesday night, in a show of solidarity in his war with Russia.
The US president, George W Bush, announced that US secretary for defence Robert Gates will head a "humanitarian mission" to deliver relief supplies to Georgia.
Mr Saakashvili claimed this meant the US military was taking control of Georgian ports and airports, but this was quickly denied by the Pentagon.
"We expect Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including sea ports, airports, roads and airspace, remain open for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for civilian transit," Mr Bush told reporters in Washington.
"To begin to repair the damage to its relations with the United States, Europe and other nations, and to begin restoring its place in the world, Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis," Mr Bush said.
The first US C-17 cargo planes carrying relief supplies landed in Tbilisi yesterday, the White House announced. A second flight is scheduled to land today.
Although the US deployment is presented as a humanitarian mission, its management by the Pentagon is a clear warning to the Russians.
Russia accused the US yesterday of playing a dangerous game in the Caucasus by backing Georgia. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said Washington had to choose between partnership with Moscow and the Georgian leadership, which he described as a "virtual project".
Yesterday's Russian incursion occurred 15 hours after French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced he had obtained the agreement of both Russia and Georgia to a six-point peace plan.
The plan made no mention of international peacekeepers, but the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, yesterday said the EU could send military personnel to monitor a ceasefire.
Mr Putin and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev persuaded Mr Sarkozy to remove the reference to Georgia's "territorial integrity" from the proposed accord. Although Mr Sarkozy claimed there had been "no concessions", Georgia appears to have definitively lost control of the enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russia denied reports that its troops had taken the Georgian town of Gori, but this reporter saw two Russian tanks at the entry to Gori, and eyewitnesses saw at least 20 more inside the town, where Ossetian irregulars stole money, documents, cars and television cameras from Georgian refugees and foreign journalists.
Some Georgian officials said Russia intended to march on Tbilisi; others denied this. The national security adviser said the Russian column, which numbered some 100 vehicles and pieces of armour, might be headed for the Uplistsikhe military base, which Georgian forces abandoned earlier in the conflict.
This seemed to concur with the Russian government spokesman's statement that Russian troops were "demilitarising" the area to prevent Georgia from attacking again.